Massive Woodstock apartment fire displaces dozens

WOODSTOCK, Ga. - A weekend apartment fire in Woodstock has left more than a dozen people without a home and their belongings.

Black smoke and flames shot up from a Woodstock apartment building Sunday morning at around 11 a.m. as wind fanned the fire.

"I came down the stairs, stepped outside, and the whole building was on fire," said Maria Coba.

Coba and her family had lived at Brooke Mill Apartments on Downsby Lane for three years, until Sunday.  

"We lost everything, it's hard," Coba said, choking up. "It is everything we've worked for for years."

Coba was home when the fire started signing up for classes at Kennesaw State University. She and her mom heard the alarm and grabbed their cat and two dogs, but left everything else thinking it was not real.

Drone video shows the fire’s destruction.

"You can get the material things back, but it's not the same," she said. "We have memories, pictures. I had just bought a new laptop for school, and it's lost."

The Cherokee County Fire Department says a firefighter suffered a minor injury, but nobody else was hurt.

On Monday, some of those who lived in the building came back to see what they could save.

"I couldn't even make it over here because it's so crowded with fire trucks," said Erin Light. "All I've been told is just what I can't do, which is 'can't go in the building' and 'can't try to see if I can salvage anything.'"

Residents told FOX 5 several cats did not make it out.

The Red Cross has assisted three dozen residents.

For Coba, she is still at a loss that this happened.

"It's hard to start over," she said. "That was home and now we don't have a home anymore, which is hard."

The Coba family has created a GoFundMe.

Firefighters say the cause is still under investigation.