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'It happened so fast': Unidentified person killed in house fire, neighbor tried to help
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An unidentified man died during a Monday night fire in a Northeast Albuquerque apartment, despite the efforts of his next-door neighbor to save him.
At about 11:15 p.m., Albuquerque Fire Rescue responded to a call of a structure fire at Sellers Drive, near Marron and Interstate 40.
According to an AFR Facebook post, when firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the first floor of a two-story apartment complex.
Karl Fleming told the Journal on Tuesday he and a friend were smoking a cigarette in a car parked outside the patio when they heard a loud sound from his neighbor’s apartment.
“I have no clue what exploded,” he said. “It happened so fast.”
Fleming said they saw lots of smoke and his neighbor’s two back doors blown off when his friend called 911 and Fleming picked up a fire extinguisher.
When the fire grew again, Fleming said he got an empty tin popcorn container, filled it with water and poured it inside his neighbor’s apartment.
“It was the first thing I saw that I could grab,” he said.
AFR spokesman Lt. Jason Fejer said he did not have information on the victim’s identity, but Fleming said he was “trying to save” a man named John. Fleming didn’t know his last name, but said he was friendly.
According to Fire Rescue, firefighters found the man unconscious and not breathing when they arrived. First responders unsuccessfully attempted life-saving measures before pronouncing the man dead.
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According to AFR, the fire was brought under control within seven minutes. Damage was contained to the victim’s apartment. The Facebook post states that neighbors were not displaced.
Fleming’s said his apartment was not damaged, but he wished he could have done more to save his neighbor.
“(It) was a failed attempt to be a hero,” he said.
According to Fire Rescue, no cause has been determined and the case is under investigation.
“There was no shrapnel, no gas,” Fleming said as he tried to figure out what happened. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
