Norfolk, Va. - When William Askew returned home from work Wednesday night, he was greeted by smoke coming from a neighbor's apartment.
A fire broke out in the 7000 block of Auburn Avenue in the Braywood Manor High Rise
"Tried to knock on the door, get some attention to see if anyone was there, but nobody came out,” says Askew.
He says the smoke got so bad they had to leave the building.
"Really, really really bad. I've been here 13 years. We've had a couple fires in that time but nothing this bad,” says Askew.
The fire department says no one was hurt.
Power did have to be cut to two of the three wings of the building.
142 residents had to find other places to stay for the night.
Some chose to stay in the building and slept on cots provided by the Red Cross.
Richard Ferebee was one of them.
"I might just stay in the game room, but I'm staying here. It's rough. I want to get back in my apartment. I want to get some sleep. I'm hungry and everything,” says Ferebee.
The fire department says electric workers are inspecting the building to see if it's safe to turn the power back on.
The Red Cross helped 52 residents find places to stay last night.
They say the building is being inspected to see if residents can move back in, but do not know when that will be yet.
The fire department says they're still investigating the cause of the fire.
