KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After an apartment fire displaced dozens of families, many are wondering when they’ll get to go back home.
First responders say the flames were visible as they arrived on scene to the Harvard Apartment complex on Harvard Lane Friday afternoon.
As a 2-alarm fire response was called, several people were rescued from their balconies as smoke and flames hindered their escape.
Nicole Simonton was among those rescued by firefighters.
"By the time I found my cat and grabbed my dogs and everything, I opened the door and there was too much smoke,” said Simonton.
Tears drip down her face as Simonton remembers the terrifying moment she attempted to escape the fire in her apartment building.
"I shut the door, went out to the balcony and kept screaming for help,” said Simonton.
Like many of her neighbors, firefighter climbed up a ladder to rescue her and her boyfriend.
"It was basically complete chaos,” She said.
Against her wishes, the dogs were left behind on the balcony. After fire crews left the scene, her boyfriend went back for the dogs himself.
Over the weekend the couple and their two dogs stayed in a motel. While they are grateful to be safe, they are frustrated.
Simonton is upset she has not been allowed to return to her home to get any belongings.
"I had to have a friend today bring me clothes,” she said.
Simonton has no idea what the extent of the damage is to her apartment.
She says she is hopeful she will get to return home this week, but she really can’t say for certain.
"They haven't told anybody anything about the units,” said Simonton.
Until she knows if her place is livable she’ll be staying at a motel in clothes she borrowed from a friend, in a bed that’s not her own.
Over 30 apartment units were damaged in the fire. The American Red Cross of Greater Kansas City is assisting over 50 tenants displaced from the apartment complex.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
