Within moments of being jolted from sleep by a banging at the door, it became evident to Nikolas Waldschuetz that he would need to flee his apartment for his life.
He and his girlfriend grabbed their cellphones and wallets and closed the door on the rest of their belongings as flames consumed his Poncey-Highland apartment building early Sunday. By the time the sun came up, it was clear that Waldschuetz and more than two dozen of his neighbors at the North High Ridge Apartments on North Avenue had lost everything.
The interior of the two-story building collapsed as the fire burned during the night, leaving a pile of charred rubble. Waldschuetz and his girlfriend Kristen Sanchez returned Monday morning to attempt to find a fireproof box that was inside his apartment, but the building was in such shambles it made retrieval impossible.
“That’s the one blessing that we can take away from this: There was no loss of human life,” Waldschuetz said as he surveyed the damage and considered what was next.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
In total, 28 people lost their homes, according to Atlanta fire officials. While no one was injured and most were able to escape with their pets, at least five cats were still missing, their owners hopeful they were able to escape on their own.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials said Monday.
Volunteers with the Red Cross were helping displaced residents to find temporary housing. Most, like Waldschuetz, were relying on the goodwill of friends and relatives until they found their footing.
And there has been no shortage of goodwill. On nearby Seminole Avenue, Jenna Mobley turned her backyard into a makeshift donation center to collect clothing, toiletries and pet supplies. A handwritten sign hung on her picket fence instructed North High Ridge residents to “take anything and everything you need.”
A testament to the generosity of her neighbors, Mobley had to pause donations Monday as all immediate needs were filled.
“All the neighbors have really rallied around and done the boots on the ground work, but the one thing we can’t do is keep them in our neighborhood, and that’s where we are feeling really helpless,” she said.
Residents say North High Ridge, which dates to the 1920s, is one of the only affordable housing options in Poncey-Highland, where two-bedroom homes regularly sell for upwards of $500,000 and studio apartments at luxury developments start at $1,599 a month. Home prices in neighboring Virginia-Highland are even steeper.
Most of the building’s residents have lived there for years, said Mobley, who grew up in Poncey-Highland and returned as an adult to make a home there. They are artists, musicians, restaurant workers and store managers, fixtures in the businesses that make up her community, she said.
“They are really a foundational part of our neighborhood, and the fact that they are being displaced from this area is just devastating to us,” Mobley said.
Erica Webb was among many people hoping to raise money for the North High Ridge community. A former Virginia-Highland resident and a weekend bartender at the Atkins Park restaurant and bar, Webb said she was moved to help once she learned just how many of her friends would have to start over.
Seventeen other campaigns aimed to raise money for individual residents and their families had raised a combined $150,000 as of Tuesday afternoon, and donations were still pouring in.
“It’s the most amazing community,” Webb said. “Everyone comes together when something like this happens.”
— Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.
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