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Residents evacuated after 2-alarm fire breaks out at Midtown apartment complex

Houston firefighters quickly got a two-alarm fire under control late Tuesday morning near Midtown.

HOUSTON -- A two-alarm apartment or condominium complex fire was reported on Richmond Avenue, not far from Fannin and the Southwest Freeway, late Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out at 4500 Travis Street. The building is a public housing home to mostly veterans.

"It was hot, very smokey everywhere," said Ronnie Rush. "We heard an explosion, a pah, maybe 3 or 4 times. All the way up, there was just a lot of smoke up there."

Rush says when the smoke turned from white to black, he knew it was time to go. He grabbed his son, his wife and evacuated the building.

RAW VIDEO: Witness captures large fire at Richmond apartment complex

Others like World War II veteran Harry McGinnis had no idea what was going on.

"I just remember someone pounding on the door saying there's a fire, but the fire alarm didn't go off," said McGinnis. "It goes off during the drills, but during a real fire, it didn't go off."

Firefighters were able to get everyone out without injury. Several residents had to be carried down the stairs.

"I'll be 91 in a couple days, this is a little excitement in my life," said McGinnis.

HFD says crews were working on an air conditioning unit on the roof when it appears the fire started.

"Firefighters were on scene within minutes and put an excellent stop on the fire, contained it to the area that was already damaged," said Chief Samuel Pena.

It could have been worse had the fire spread more quickly. Now the City of Houston and firefighters are focused on assessing the damage and taking care of those displaced.

"We think it's going to be limited," said Tom McCasland, Houston's Housing Director. "We're going to get the people out of the heat and make sure they have a place to go."

We are told no more than 10 total units were damaged.

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