Fire rips through Newark apartment building leaving 20 homeless and causing $1M in damage

A three-alarm fire heavily damaged a Newark apartment building Tuesday afternoon leaving over 20 residents homeless and causing more than $1 million in damage.

No injuries were reported in the fire in Building 18 of the Southgate Apartments just off South College Avenue across from Delaware Stadium, according to the state fire marshal.

Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company Deputy Chief Andrew Happer said the fire started in the attic of the building. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation by the state fire marshal’s office.

Parts of South College Avenue were closed while firefighters battled the blaze.

Heavy smoke was pouring from the building when Aetna firefighters arrived on the scene, Happer said. A second and then third alarm was raised around 3 p.m. The fire was under control by 4 p.m.

The University of Delaware Police Department alerted students to “ongoing fire department activity” at Southgate Garden Apartments.

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Fire company units from around New Castle County and a unit from Maryland also responded to the incident.

“We ended up getting called for multiple calls of smoke coming from the building,” Happer said, adding that the fire was above the third floor.

Southgate’s property manager said around 20 residents are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross to find temporary housing.

One resident, Mounika Kasarla, and two others were in her apartment when she said her electricity fluctuated before seeing the fire. They ran out of the apartment and called 911.

“We couldn’t get the complete visual of that one, but we saw something big, and we just came out running,” she said.