Homeowners are speaking out after losing part, or all, of their home in Monday afternoon's Overland Park apartment complex fire.
Some people, like Phil McPherson, couldn't even change his clothes since yesterday.
He remembers looking out the window and being able to see the flames from the apartment complex through the windows of his neighbors. Next thing he knew the flames hit his home.
"I've been milling around the house, been to the gym and worked out and I was getting ready to shower up myself and I just smelled something like this is not a normal smell," said McPherson.
Another homeowner says all he wanted was to go back to his home and retrieve a hard drive from the basement of his house that had all of his family's pictures and videos. He was not allowed to enter his home since it is completely destroyed, however fire investigators did retrieve the hard drive intact.
At the end of the day some victims were just happy to be together with their loved ones and family pets.
McPherson says, "the fires were out enough that the three firemen went in the house in about 10 minutes he came walking out with the other cat. We were so happy."
Only people with proof of residency are allowed in the neighborhood, as of Tuesday afternoon.
Victims whose homes were damaged will only be escorted to their home after talking to a fire investigators at Christ Lutheran Church.
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Jane Monreal can be reached at JANE.MONREAL@KSHB.com.
