"I just heard a loud explosion," says Wendell Buerger, a witness nearby, "All I saw was flames, I ran outside and called 911."
The action happening just a few feet from Buerger's home, drew a lot of attention. For Buerger, this was all too familiar, "I pretty much had the same incident happen last year," he exclaims, "I was freaking out about it, and I thought, 'Here we go again.'"
He and his neighbors stood in amazement at the sight, in the alley. "It scares the living daylights out of you," admits Jane Dury, who was so caught up, she tried to call 911 with her TV remote.
"I grabbed the TV remote and thought, 'Well, this isn't going to work.' So he [her husband] grabbed the phone and called them."
While the fire burned only one unit, all six had some sort of damage. As one tenant says, it all happened so fast. "Someone came to my door and said I had to get out there's a fire next door," says Virgina Creed.
"I was astounded, I was sitting there reading, and there was no smoke, no smell, noting I could tell."
Virginia Creed was just happy she and her neighbors were safe and sound, which is what mattered most to everyone standing by.
The Abilene Fire Department reports the fire may have started in the utility room or even the garage of the middle unit. One victim was burned and was airlifted to Lubbock for further treatment. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
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