Modesto apartment fire leaves at least 29 people displaced

At least 29 people were displaced after an apartment complex caught fire in Modesto. Roughly 50 firefighters tackled the flames at Valley Oak Apartments on Oakdale Road.

Around 7:45 a.m. Sunday, residents were awoken to the sound of fire alarms, many of them sleeping right through it. But one man started banging on doors, and luckily everyone made it out safely.

"They were confused as to why we were knocking so hard so early in the morning," said Armando Hernandez, who is now displaced.

Hernandez works at a school. He's all too familiar with the sound of drills and alarms. Luckily, something told him to get up and look outside.

"I just wanted to double-check, so when I saw the smoke, I ran upstairs and told my partner there was a fire behind the building and to grab the dog and get out. I went knocking on my immediate neighbors' doors, telling everyone to evacuate immediately," he said.

Modesto Fire says when they arrived on scene, affected tenants were already outside. No people were injured in the fire, but unfortunately someone's pet died.

"Another issue we had is we were unable to isolate the power to strictly the apartments that were involved so that really increased the number of people displaced by this fire," said Captain Joseph Spani with Modesto Fire.

A total of 16 units are considered unlivable for the time being, either from fire damage or loss of power.

"It was kind of scary seeing it happen, especially so close," said Hernandez, "but it is just tough having to find a home so suddenly."

The Red Cross is helping fire victims get back on their feet.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.