(November 23, 2007)--Residents of the Bay Colony Apartments at the 4300 block of Rancier in Killeen were sent scrambling into the night after a massive fire broke out before 2:00am Thursday morning.
"All of a sudden, someone was banging on my door..." says apartment tenant Charles Okafor.
Just days after burying his mother-in-law, Charles Okafor awoke in his apartment to a loud pounding on the door. Killeen fire fighters were clearing the building. A massive fire fueled by heavy north winds was chewing its way through the shared attic in his apartment building.
The huge fire burned for 10 hours, displacing 21 families and destroying three buildings.
In the neighboring town of Harker Heights, a bar, which has been preparing Thanksgiving meals for those in need for almost two decades, heard about the incident on News 10, and decided to offer the displaced residents a helping hand.
"If you are privileged enough to have thanksgiving then you are privileged enough to help someone else." said Cabaret 7 volunteer Lori Buker.
Some of the tenants affected by the fire were placed in vacant apartments. Red Cross assisted other residents by providing temporary shelter in local hotels.
Killeen fire officials spent Thanksgiving Day investigating the cause of the fire.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined. No injuries relating to the fire were reported.