The fire broke out around 7:30 a.m. Friday at the Stonington Court apartments, located on the 1800 block of Laurel Road in Lindenwold.
Fire officials say it appears the fire started with a woman smoking in her bed. They believe the mattress caught fire and the flames quickly spread.
Authorities have determined fifteen units to be uninhabitable, leaving 29 adults and two children displaced. Even more units sustained smoke and water damage.
Cindy Ruth, a crossing guard, was stationed nearby and quickly went running toward the complex as the blaze broke out.
"We just heard a noise and big ball of flames come from bottom window of apartment," said Ruth.
Gloria DeWald-Page was able to grab her husband urn, her sister a few clothes after flames tore through her apartment. The fire is the latest devastating turn for Gloria, who lost her husband a year ago yesterday.
Gloria told us, "I would be married 49 years this March. And I lost my husband last year on his birthday, March 8th. Yesterday was a year. My husband died in my arms in my bed and I don't even have that now."
The roof and several walls collapsed as firefighters from Lindenwold and surrounding communities battled the fast moving flames which were propelled by the winds.
It took about two hours for firefighters to bring the blaze under control.
Apartment management is putting up residents in vacant units, while the Red Cross assists 31 people with their other immediate needs.
Cammy Trinidad of The American Red Cross explained that the residents will be supplied with "cots, blankets, debit cards for clothing and food so that they can take care of their emergency needs until other forms of shopping and assistance can fall into place and they can get their apartments back to the conditions they had before. But all of them are going to be placed into apartments."
No civilians or firefighters were injured in the blaze, but one police officer was taken to JFK Hospital in stable condition.
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