SHERWOOD, Ark. — Families in Sherwood are living through a tragedy that no one should go through after an apartment fire left them displaced.
Sherwood fire officials said the fire happened at New Brittany Apartments near Highway 107 and Jacksonville Cutoff around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Occupants of the residing building came out of their homes to help residents escape the massive flames. As officials worked to contain the fire, Sherwood Deputy Fire Marshal Josh Clay said the damaged building was uninhabitable, and families were displaced.
"It's hurtful and painful," Tammi Mason said. "At the same time, everyone who's breaking air got out alive, and that's Jesus."
As authorities work to investigate what exactly caused the blaze, families are now left wondering what's next. They are left without a home and valuable items that are near and dear to their hearts.
According to Greater Arkansas Red Cross Regional Communications Director Sharon Watson, the fire affected 13 units and caused four families and six individuals to lose their homes.
That's why volunteers like Jim Powell didn't hesitate to help each family out once he heard the news.
"What we do is we come out, we do what they call intake," Powell said. "We have some questions [for them to fill out on] our online form. Once we're done, we can assist them by pointing them towards resources provided by the Red Cross to help them in the recovery effort."
With access to many resources, families are able to get one step closer to better days.
"We're here to provide some opportunities for them," Powell said. "To direct them towards resources they can use and helping to recover efforts."
In the meantime, the New Brittany Apartment manager said they expect to have many of the tenants moved into vacant homes by now.
