Dozens of people lost their homes overnight to a three-alarm fire at a Central Austin apartment complex caused by an improperly discarded cigarette.
About 2 a.m. Saturday, firefighters were called to the Riverside Apartments on East Riverside Drive. Once they arrived, firefighters found a large fire on the third floor of one of the buildings in the complex.
About 30 apartments were affected, and several people were evacuated from their homes. Management will relocate occupants of 11 units, and the American Red Cross of Central Texas will assist the remaining affected residents. The total damage estimate is $2 million for structure and $500,000 for contents.
About 100 firefighters worked to put out the blaze. They were unable to put out the fire before it spread into the attic of the building.
The American Red Cross said, as fires go, this was a big one.
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Riverside Fire
Watch footage from the Saturday morning blaze.
 
Recovery
News 8's Jenna Hiller talks to one resident about picking up the pieces.
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"This one is one of the largest that I've been involved with," Red Cross spokeswoman Elaine Acker said. "With more than 60 people, that's a big group of people that have been completely wiped out in some cases."
Jonathon Galyon and his girlfriend moved to Austin, and into their new apartment, just 10 days ago.
"When I originally came outside to see the fire, I thought it was all gone," he said.
To Galyon's surprise, the fire did little damage to his belongings, including a record collection he's been working on since childhood.
"We didn't have any major damage to really important things to me, like some vintage guitars and a few thousand records," Galyon said.
Not everyone was so lucky. Fire crews spent Saturday helping residents see what's left of their homes. For some there was little to see.
Galyon said he is counting his blessings.
"We're actually a lot luckier than most people," he said.
Officials said the fire spread quickly, and they're not yet sure why.
"A lot of times, especially on this particular building that faces the river, it may have gone undetected," Austin firefighter Harry Evans said. "So it may have actually burned quite innocently, if you will, and then gained a lot of steam."
