Boys knock door-to-door during raging Willingboro fire, 50 displaced
WILLINGBORO, N.J. -- Two young boys acted quickly and knocked on all doors of an apartment building in Willingboro, New Jersey to warn residents of a fast-moving fire.
The fire was reported around 4:15 p.m. in the Willingboro Square complex at 7102 Millennium Drive.
Nigel McCray and another young boy went knocking door-to-door on all 24 units as the flames spread.
"I knocked on the door, they started coming out, and then I helped the other lady get her grandson into the car," said McCray.
The fire reached three alarms. Officials said the units suffered damage and more than 50 people have been displaced from their homes.
Rosita Cruz had seconds to grab her pets and run to safety, thanks to her neighbor.
"I panicked," said Cruz. "I was trying to save my birds and I have a little dog."
The 7100 block of Millennium Drive quickly became a raging inferno.
Amar Dean recorded the blaze on his cell phone as fire crews worked to combat it.
"The flames literally spread across the whole roof," said Dean. "You felt the heat. Very, very intense."
Another cell phone camera captured fire crews racing people out of the Willingboro Square Apartment on stretchers.
It took fire crews more than an hour and a half to tame the blaze.
The cause is under investigation, but witnesses said flames were first spotted in a corner unit.
"We just watched the roof implode and that was it," said resident Chrystal Walker. "I never imagined I would lose everything."
Walker lived in a middle unit and is now one of more than 50 residents who has been displaced.
"It's unbelievable, unreal. Unreal. No other words," she said.
A lot of the residents were quick to say- it's not really about the material things, but the memories lost in the fire.
There were no reports of injuries.
The Red Cross is offering assistance to displaced residents.
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