BREAKING NEWS A MASSIVE FIRE ERUPTED EARLY THIS MORNING IN BIRMINGHAM’S FIVE POINTS SOUTH NEIGHBORHOOD. THE FLAMES SPREAD FROM ONE BUILDING TO ANOTHER, AND SMOKE COULD BE SEEN FROM MILES AWAY. AND WHAT WE’RE SEEING NOW IS THE AFTERMATH OF AN INTENSE FIRE. THIS IS A LIVE LOOK FROM OUR SKY SKYCAM, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT SAME AREA LOOKS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN THE SHOT NEXT TO IT. AND THAT VIDEO IS FROM THIS MORNING. IT SHOWS THAT THICK BLACK SMOKE BILLOWING UP OVER THE BIRMINGHAM SKYLINE. GOOD EVENING. I’M CARLA WADE AND I’M BRITTANY DECKER. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US HERE. I WANT TO SHOW YOU THIS VIDEO, THE FIRE THAT WAS RAGING AS WE’VE BEEN TELLING YOU ABOUT THAT OLD VACANT HOUSE IN FIVE POINTS SOUTH. THIS WAS JUST BEFORE THE SUN CAME UP. THIS IS THE SCENE THAT OUR CREW SAW WHEN THEY FIRST GOT OUT TO 20TH STREET SOUTH AT ABOUT 6:00 THIS MORNING. FLAMES WERE COMING OUT OF WINDOWS AND DOORS. THE ENTIRE HOUSE WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES BY SEVEN. YOU CAN SEE THE OLD HOUSE, WHICH HAD ONCE BEEN A BUSINESS, WAS DESTROYED. BIRMINGHAM FIRST RESPONDERS CONTINUING TO ATTACK THE FIRE, BUT IT HAD SPREAD TO TWO BUILDINGS WHICH INCLUDED APARTMENTS ON EACH SIDE OF THE HOUSE. THE FIRE CONTINUED FOR HOURS, WITH DOZENS OF FIRST RESPONDERS ON THE SCENE, AS WELL AS THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. THE ORGANIZATION TELLS US AT LEAST 18 PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE A HOME TO GO BACK TO TONIGHT. AND THIS ALL HAPPENED ONLY ABOUT A HALF A MILE FROM OUR STATION NEAR VULCAN. THIS AREA IS THE ROUTE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE TAKE TO GET TO DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM, AS WELL AS FIVE POINTS SOUTH. LET’S GET STRAIGHT OUT TO WVTM 13. JARVIS ROBERTSON, WHO HAS BEEN THERE AT THAT SCENE ALL DAY, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE. HE’S JOINING US LIVE. JARVIS, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US RIGHT NOW? WELL, BRITTANY CARLA FROM SUNRISE TO SUNSET, THIS FIRE HAS BEEN THE ATTENTION OF BIRMINGHAM FIRE AND RESCUE. YOU CAN SEE BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW. THEIR HOSES ARE STILL SCATTERED ABOUT ACROSS 20TH STREET SOUTH. NOW, AROUND 3:00 THIS AFTERNOON, WE DID GET A PRESS BRIEFING FROM A LIEUTENANT WITH THE FIRE SERVICE. HE SAYS THAT I DID ASK HIM, HOW MUCH WATER HAVE THEY USED ON THIS FIRE AT THAT POINT, HE SAID IT WAS SEVERAL THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF WATER. AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, THAT NUMBER IS ONLY INCREASING HERE AT 601 AS FIREFIGHTERS WORK TO PUT OUT THE REMAINING HOTSPOTS. NOW, I WANT YOU GUYS TO TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE VIDEO. IT IS INCREDIBLE SHOWING THAT HOUSE FULLY INVOLVED. THAT MEANS EVERY INCH OF IT WAS ON FIRE. BIRMINGHAM FIRE OFFICIALS SAY THAT IT SPREAD, AS YOU GUYS MENTIONED, TO NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS, THE STRUCTURES ARE A MIXTURE OF COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL. INITIALLY, THERE WAS WORD OF POSSIBLE EXPLOSIONS HAPPENING, BUT FIRE OFFICIALS BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS JUST THE SOUND OF GLASS AND OTHER PARTS OF THE BUILDINGS CRUMBLING BECAUSE OF THE FIRE. NOW, I DID HAVE A CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE WHO LIVES NEARBY ABOUT WHAT HE HEARD AND SAW. THIS MORNING HE STARTED TO HEAR CRACKLING LIKE POPPING SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN MY APARTMENT THOUGHT IT WAS FIREWORKS OR SO, AND ALSO OTHER PEOPLE IN THE APARTMENT BUILDING SAW THROUGH THEIR WINDOWS AN ORANGE GLOW. SO THEN OUR GROUP CHAT IN OUR BUILDING STARTED GOING OFF. THEY COULD FEEL THE HEAT THROUGH THEIR WINDOWS FROM THE FIRE. IT WAS SO CLOSE. NOW IT’S UNCLEAR HOW MUCH LONGER BIRMINGHAM FIREFIGHTERS ARE GOING TO BE ON SCENE. I CAN TELL YOU THAT JEFFERSON COUNTY MOBILE COMMAND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, MOBILE COMMAND CENTER, IT JUST ARRIVED ON SCENE NOT TOO LONG AGO. SO THEY’RE GOING TO BE HERE WELL INTO THE NIGHT NOW. FIREFIGHTERS AGAIN, THEY ARE EXPECTED TO TRY AND PUT OUT ALL OF THESE HOTSPOTS TONIGHT BECAUSE OF THE SIZE OF THE FIRE IT HAS GARNERED SO MUCH ATTENTION AROUND THE BIRMINGHAM METRO. PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF BIRMINGHAM, JEFFERSON COUNTY, SEEING THAT SMOKE BILLOWING INTO THE AIR FROM MILES AWAY. AND BECAUSE OF THAT FIRE, BIRMINGHAM CITY LEADERS, THEY’RE DEFINITELY KEEPING AN EYE ON THINGS. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS RELEASED A JOINT STATEMENT ON THE FIRE, SAYING THAT CITY WILL CONTINUE TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE WORK TO SUPPORT RECOVERY EFFORTS AND EXPLORE WAYS TO RESTORE RESTORE ONE OF THE CITY’S ICONIC COBBLESTONE STREETS. NOW, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE DAMAGE, IT MEANS THAT SEVERAL PEOPLE, THEY’VE LOST EVERYTHING. AND AS OF RIGHT NOW, THEY ARE FIGURING OUT THEIR NEXT STEPS THE RED CROSS. THEY’VE BEEN ON SCENE FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THEY TELL US AT LEAST 18 PEOPLE AND FAMILIES HAVE BEEN DISPLACED BECAUSE OF THE FIRE. RED CROSS ORGANIZERS ON HAND SAY THAT THE BIG FOCUS RIGHT NOW IS TO GET THESE PEOPLE OUT OF THE COLD AND SOMEWHERE WARM TO STAY FOR THE NEXT FEW NIGHTS, BUT SADLY, THIS IS A SCENE THEY’RE ALL TOO FAMILIAR WITH. WE RESPOND A LOT TO MULTIFAMILY FIRES AND HOOVER, VESTAVIA, CENTRE POINT. AND SO THIS TIME OF YEAR, IT’S NOT UNCOMMON FOR US TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE IN A DAY. SO WE JUST HAVE TO BE PREPARED. NOW, THE RED CROSS ISN’T THE ONLY ORGANIZATION OR PEOPLE HELPING OUT WITH HELPING THOSE VICTIMS THAT HAVE BEEN DISPLACED. EARLIER TODAY, WE DID HAVE A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH THE OWNER OF ALCHEMY FOOTWEAR AND APPAREL. HE CAME OUT TO LEND A HELPING HAND. HE WAS OUT GIVING SHOES AND CLOTHING AWAY TO THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. WHEN WE LEARNED ABOUT THIS SITUATION AND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH RED CROSS, WE JUST DECIDED TO GET PEOPLE OUT HERE AND BRING SOME SHOES AND SOME SOCKS AND SOME PANTS AND SOME JACKETS. ANYTHING THAT WE HAVE AS A RESOURCE INSIDE OF OUR BUSINESS THAT WE CAN GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY. THAT’S WHAT WE CAME HERE TO DO. NOW, THIS MASSIVE FIRE WAS TRULY DEVASTATING. AND AT THIS POINT, THAT IS JUST AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE OUT HERE EARLIER TODAY THAT SAYS HE SPOKE WITH SOMEONE WHO ONLY WAS ABLE TO WALK OUT OF THE APARTMENT WITH THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACK AND GRABBED THEIR CAT AND GET TO SAFETY. NOW BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN SEE THE WATER CASCADING DOWN BEHIND ONE OF THE BUILDINGS. THAT BUILDING HAS A FOR SALE SIGN IN FRONT OF IT. SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF THE LIVES OF SO MANY PEOPLE. NOW WE’RE STILL WAITING TO FIND OUT HOW THIS FIRE STARTED. BIRMINGHAM FIRE. THEY SAY THAT THEY ARE STILL INVESTIGATING. ALSO, THE ATF INVESTIGATING AS WELL. SO ONCE WE FIND OUT HOW IT STARTED, WE’LL BE SURE TO LET YOU ALL KNOW. REPORTING LIVE IN BIRMINGHAM TONIGH