Poplar Place Apartments in Carrboro catches fire

CARRBORO, N.C. (WTVD) -- A fire broke out Monday morning at an apartment complex in Carrboro.

It happened at Poplar Place Apartments located at 605 Jones Ferry Road.

Chopper 11HD arrived around 6:30 a.m. to see smoke and flames shooting out of the top of the building.

"I was taken aback by just the sheer size of it," Zachary Smith said. "I've never really been that close to a fire of that size, and I was not ready for it. Certainly not at 6:15 in the morning."

Firefighters on ladders and on the ground worked to extinguish the fire.

People and pets were all evacuated from inside the burning building.

EMS crews treated two people at the scene. One of them had to be taken to the hospital.

A dog pulled from the building also needed immediate medical attention.

The dog was unconscious. So most fire departments around the country carry what they call a specialized pet mask, and it's just an oxygen mask designed to put over the snout of a dog, and I believe the dog is (now) up and walking around," Carrboro Fire Chief Dave Schmidt said.

With the fire extinguished, all that's left is the recovery. The 20-unit building is not safe for tenants to return immediately, meaning the displaced tenants are left to wonder about their belongings.

"I might not be able to live there for awhile, so I'm just trying to process what this means for the future. I don't know," Kristen Anderson said.

"I hope that we can salvage as much as we can. As a result of smoke damage and water damage, hopefully there's not too much lost," Smith said.