A fire destroys an entire apartment building in Johnson County.

The fire started at 1:30 p.m. at the Fannin Apartments in Van Lear. Firefighters say it could take all night to put out all the hot spots.

The building had six apartments. Only two were occupied, and now both of those families lost everything.

Nothing is left of the Fannin Apartments on Sorghum Hollow. Witnesses say flames quickly ripped through the six apartments. Matthew Smith was home and says, “I don't even know what happened. All I know is that it caught fire.”
He got out as fast as he could.

Derek Christian and his family were not there when it started, but say they got there fast when they heard their home was on fire. “Fully engulfed in flames, I didn't know what to think at first. I was just in shock,” Christian says.

Firefighters do not know yet how or where it started. The families believe it started in an empty apartment where they say employees were doing some work.

Firefighters say they could not save anything and could only put out the flames. The families lost everything. Christian said he lost, “a lot of memories, a lot of items that was personal to me, like from my dead father.”

But they are glad to still have each other. Smith said, “there's a lot of things that meant a lot to us, but I think the thing that meant the most was family and the family got out okay.”
The families are thankful to be alive, but they do not know what they will do next.

Firefighters do not suspect foul play, but they are turning the investigation over to the state arson investigator to determine the exact cause.