KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Residents began taking stock of anything salvageable Sunday after a fire ripped through their town homes a day earlier.
More than a dozen people are without homes and a family is mourning the loss of a 4-year-old girl who died in the fire.
Cernyn Macon lived next door to the house where the fire originated. He was among those sifting through the debris at the College Park Town Homes in Kansas City, Kansas.
“Today is like a sad Christmas," he said. "You're just trying to see what there is to see, what you can keep, what you can't keep.”
Macon found some things he can salvage — like pots and pans, dishes and even some food in his refrigerator.
“Everything was still, for the most part, cold," Macon said. "Everything over here is frozen, popsicles are starting to thaw out."
The wood flooring in what remains of his residence is covered in char and water-logged.
“You can still hear the water dripping," he said. "I know they poured over 100 gallons of water in that apartment alone."
The upstairs at Macon's unit is in even worse shape. The roof is gone and most of the walls are now see-through and burnt. While he lost most of his possessions, Macon knows it could have been a lot worse.
"At the end of the day, you thank God that you're alive and thank God for your family and what you do have and you try your best to move on, as best as possible," he said.
Fire inspectors are still looking into the cause of the fire, including new evidence from other neighbors on the back of the complex who took cell phone video of the incident.
