‘God was with me’: Residents grateful to make it out of apartment fire in New Albany

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WAVE) - Dozens of people at a New Albany apartment complex are figuring out how to move forward after a late night fire left several units “uninhabitable.”

Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, the New Albany Fire Department and several others responded to multiple 911 calls of a fire at the Kingsfield Apartments. It took and hour and a half to put the fire out, alongside several other neighboring fire crews, but the damage left behind is extensive.

Eight of the 16 apartments in the impacted building sustained damage, some by fire and others by water from the efforts to put it out.

“There’s a lot of water damage in there,” said Judi Davidson. “Some of the ceiling came down, but it doesn’t look like my apartment burned at all. So, hopefully I’ll be able to salvage something.”

The reality has yet to set in for some residents, including Mike Roberts, a resident who found himself trapped by the flames in his apartment.

“The smoke could’ve gotten me before I woke up,” said Roberts. “So I am definitely blessed. God was with me, that’s for sure.”

Roberts woke up from a deep sleep after working nine days straight on a night shift. He saw smoke creeping into his apartment from a light switch, a glimpse into the flames and smoke just beyond his front door that he would not be able to get past.

“When I opened that front door, that’s when it hit me,” said Roberts. “If that balcony had fire on it, I was going to be in real trouble.”

Thankfully, the balcony had not yet been touched by the fire. It would end up being the only thing getting him out of trouble.

“When I first stepped onto the balcony, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t’ know if I should do this,’” explained Roberts. “But when the smoke got so bad, that after that, I didn’t think about. I was like, ‘I’ve got to do this.’”

So, Roberts jumped.

It was a split-second decision that saved his life. He walked away with 13 stitches and a puncture wound from a bush that softened his fall, just grateful to be alive.

“It hasn’t totally hit me yet,” said Roberts. “Once I showed up, [fire officials] had a backpack without a lot of my stuff in it that I needed. So a fireman did get that out. I can replace everything else. I’m just glad that I got out of there.”

Davidson shares that sentiment. Both Roberts and Davidson were among the residents who arrived at the scene Thursday, working to gather the few personal belongings fire crews were able to salvage.

Davidson’s most prized possession, though, is still unaccounted for, her five-year-old cat, Miss Tiny.

“Some said last night that they thought they saw her running out of the apartment, so hopefully she’s hiding under a bush or climbed up a tree or something,” said Davidson.

New Albany Fire Chief Matthew Juliot emphasized that the two firewalls did their job keeping the fire controlled to one half of the building. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The American Red Cross has been on site since Wednesday night. They are working to find those displaced food, water and housing going forward.

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