TULSA, Okla. — At least 36 tenants who lost their home in a three-alarm fire July 29 are readjusting to life away from Windsail Apartments.
"The sheer terror in his voice let me know this was real," Amelia Vaughn said, describing that it was not any smoke alarm but a heroic neighbor in her complex that awoke her and her husband that their building was on fire.
The couple are also Navy veterans, just three years retired from serving in the Pacific.
Vaughn, her husband, and their dog, Buddy, made it out unscathed. Their cats, Ciri and Eve, did not.
- Previous coverage >>> 3-alarm fire forces dozens to evacuate at Tulsa apartments
"At that point in time I was pretty certain my cats were gone," she said.
But one firefighter did spot the cats once the fire was contained in Vaughn's second floor unit.
They both survived and suffered just minor smoke and heat exposure, she said.
"That's all I could think of, was get them to the vet," she said. "And I am so grateful to the fireman that went in with me."
The retired sailors are now starting from scratch. A GoFundMe is set up to help them rebuild their lives.
Vaughn said their experience also serves as a lesson.
"Unless you have renter's insurance you're not getting anything back. I mean, it's just gone," she said.
Vaughn told 2 News Case & Associates, which owns Windsail Apartments, helped her relocate to another complex it owned.
Tulsa Fire Department's investigation into the fire is still ongoing as of August 4.
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