Neighbors Rush to Escape Apartment Fire in Gastonia

GASTONIA, NC – Neighbors describe frightening moments as they rushed to get out of their Gastonia apartments, as the building became engulfed in flames.

Firefighters were called to the Destination at Union, formerly known as the Patriots Apartments just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning.

Inside, Natoya Stone and her husband scrambled to figure out what to do.

“He ran in and was trying to think like OK what can I gather, what can I get? And by the time he did all of that, the fire started coming through the patio door and blew the window out,” she explains.

It took 30 firefighters to put out the blaze.

Neighbors watched horrified, knowing there wasn’t much they could do.

Even down the street, Joe Carollo could feel the heat coming from the building. “It’s just, just phenomenal,” Carollo says.

Red Cross was at the scene throughout the day and is helping the victims.

Meanwhile, as her neighbors boarded up their windows, Stone tried to figure out what’s next. “I don’t know yet, I have no clue,” she says.

She moved here from Houston only a week ago. She’s also pregnant and lost all the items she had for the baby.

Right now, she and others are just thankful they got out safe.