Monday Afternoon and Evening ... Scattered intense Thunderstorms are expected, most likely severe. Large hail, high winds and the potential for isolated tornadoes will be the main threats. Locally heavy is rain also possible with these storms. Please check in with News 12 throughout the day for weather updates ... both On Air, On-Line at KXII.com, Twitter and Facebook.
SHERMAN, TX-Sherman fire officials now know what started Tuesday’s massive fire at the Hunnington Apartments. They tell us a smoldering cigarette started the massive blaze that cost at least $600,000 in damages.
This is what's left of Kenneth Gray's apartment. Tuesday's fire forced Gray and 20 others out of their homes. Sherman fire officials said it was started by a cigarette.
"It really sucks that somebody else being really careless has affected me and everybody else in the building, but it's not really one of those things you can really plan for," he said.
Gray's boarded up apartment is one of the eight that burned to the ground yesterday. Eight others were heavily damaged.
It was right behind the area where authorities said the fire started.
"It's really hard to describe, I mean, watching a building burn on TV is nothing like watching it happen to your building right there just a few feet away from you. I mean, all my stuff's in it but I'm just glad no one was hurt. My fiancee wasn't home at the time," he said.
Sherman Fire Chief Jeff Jones said the burning cigarette was disposed of on the balcony of a second floor apartment.
"I believe the occupant had a bucket where they typically discard the smoking materials. With the low humidity and high wind yesterday, we believe that some of that material came outside of that bucket and then started some of that hardwood on fire," he said.
Jones said the resident living at that apartment will not face any criminal charges.
"We believe the fire was accidental, that is, nobody intentionally improperly discarded anything. So there's no criminal offense there,” he said. "The other thing that's real typical at an apartment complex is, you're real good and really have good housekeeping skills and maintenance, but the guy above you, below you, beside you or behind you may not be as careful. So we're always at risk from our neighbors and in close proximity."
"I'm not gonna hold a grudge and I'm not gonna be angry with them. It's just a simple mistake and it's just things. No one was hurt and stuff can be replaced," said Gray.
Another affected resident told us that the Hunnington Apartments held a meeting Tuesday afternoon going over plans to relocate tenants of building 5.
We reached out to the apartment's management and they had no comment.
Posted: 05/17/13 - BONHAM, TX-Several housing units in Bonham have been demolished by the Texoma Council of Governments after years of disrepair and residents said it's about time. Read More
Posted: 05/16/13 - SHERMAN, TX-After years in the works, phase one of Sherman's Streetscape Project is nearly complete. Thursday, city officials celebrated the success and looked to the future. Read More
Posted: 05/15/13 - BONHAM, TX-One of the owners of a Bonham daycare has been arrested and is facing felony charges after allegations that he molested a 4-year-old child. Read More
Updated: 05/14/13 - DURANT, OK-The Federal Trade Commission said ten million Americans fall victim to identity theft every year. One of them, a North Texas woman, struggled for months to clean up her credit and her reputation after her personal information was stolen last year. Victoria Maranan sat down with her and the investigator who cracked the case to tell us how you can protect yourself from this permanent crime. Read More
