JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As temperatures plummeted Monday night, several local families were out of a home after a fire tore through their Westside apartment complex.
Shelters were also bracing for an increase of people trying to escape the cold.
Mike Darwech was at work when he got a call that his apartment was on fire. Now he's working to find a more permanent place to stay while others across Northeast Florida looked for a way to get off the streets and out of the cold.
"The ceiling collapsed, the roof is collapsed," Darwech said as he showed Action News Jax's Cole Heath pictures of the charred remains of Building 33 at The Preserve at Cedar River apartments on the Westside.
"It's all trashed really," he said.
The flames were captured on cellphone video around 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Nobody was home at the time of the fire. The American Red Cross is now helping four adults and two kids who used to live in the four heavily damaged units.
Latest News Headlines from Action News
That includes Darwech, who doesn't have renters insurance.
"They help us out, put us in hotels, get some food for a couple days," Darwech said.
The Red Cross is helping put a roof over those displaced as temperatures hit the 20s on the Westside.
Downtown, City Rescue Mission worked to help hundreds who don't have a place to call home. When the temperature gets below 40 degrees, the mission turns its facilities into warming shelters.
Monday night, the charity was already helping 250 men, women and kids escape the cold.
"It keeps some folks alive, and some things we take things for granted, it's a blessing for those who don't," said Jamie Davis of City Rescue Mission.
Meanwhile, the half-dozen people displaced by the fire are also turning to the generosity of others to get back on their feet and get out of the frigid weather.
"If I didn't have the Red Cross yet, God knows where I would be," Darwech said.
The state fire marshal is still working to find the cause of that fire at The Preserve at Cedar River apartments.
For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts
WJAX
