UPDATED: Arkadelphia apartment destroyed in fire

This post was updated at 3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, to include details from a police report.

By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com

An early morning fire Sunday left an Arkadelphia apartment badly damaged.

At about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 20, 2024, the Arkadelphia Fire Department responded to a report of a house and car fire on Ashbury Court. Two other fire agencies were called for mutual aid.

An incident report filed later at the Arkadelphia Police Department notes that the apartment caught fire after the vehicle crashed into the building, striking a gas main in the collision. The driver of the passenger car, who resided at the apartment, reportedly told officials he was traveling home after a late night out and believed he had fallen asleep while driving.

Officials at the scene confirmed that all residents inside the apartment were able to escape without serious injury. The fire left the mid section of the duplex, as well as the vehicle, in near ruins.

A video taken by arkadelphian.com captured an explosion from the vehicle. Watch the video below.

A man in his 20s said he heard explosions as he fled from the burning building. He appeared to have a minor abrasion on his forehead and, wearing only one shoe, limped to a Baptist Health ambulance to be examined by a paramedic. He remained at the scene afterward, but was later taken to the Emergency Room for complaints of head and leg pain. He was later cited for driving with a suspended license, no liability insurance and failure to maintain control.

Standing outside a nearby apartment several yards away, a young lady he called his sister watched in bare clothing and embraced a little boy as firefighters battled the burning building. A family of four living in another apartment complex walked over to offer the victims spare clothing; they didn’t appear to know their neighbors personally.

The temperature outside was in the 40s.

A policewoman took a blanket and a stuffed animal from the trunk of her patrol unit, wrapping the young lady in the blanket and giving the little boy, by this time wearing a hooded sweatshirt, the teddy bear.

The blaze appeared to be under control within about 15-20 minutes.

Police were called back to the residence shortly after 9 a.m. when a firefighter located a “large bag” of marijuana, as well as a digital scale and a 9mm pistol with no serial number. A resident had requested the fireman enter a bedroom inside the apartment in search of keys, according to an APD report. The items were seized as evidence, and the agency’s Criminal Investigation Division was notified of the findings.