Two women die in Sherwood apartment complex fire on Tuesday
A fatal overnight blaze killed two women at Longstreth Apartments in Sherwood on Tuesday. The deadly incident displaced several residents from the residential building. The victims died inside the building just before 1 a.m.
Their identities have not been released. The Sherwood Police Department reported on social media that a woman and a 17-year-old girl died in the blaze.
Resident Brianna Hooten lived in the burning building. She said banging on her door woke her.
“I was lying in bed, probably around midnight or so, and all I heard was a big bang on the door and men yelling outside. When I came to the door, I saw the lights through the windows, and it was a bunch of police officers and firefighters out here banging on everyone’s doors, telling them to get out now, get out now.”
Hooten quickly evacuated her 2-year-old daughter and her husband’s father. Flames reached directly above her unit.
“I ran and woke up his dad and grabbed my child and came back out here. By the time I got out here, the fire had spread all the way down right above the apartment that we’re in.”
She said the intense heat burned their skin as they fled outside.
Another neighbor had to jump from a balcony to escape, Hooten said.
“The guy at the very end, he literally had to jump off the balcony to get out of the fire; he didn’t have any time to do anything except jump.”
Two victims could not get out of the Sherwood structure. Hooten later heard emergency workers locate one of the bodies.
“I was just standing over to the side and just watching and thinking that everybody was outside until I heard someone say, ‘We’ve got a body.’”
Her husband, Dylan, said he had known both victims his entire life. He praised the older victim for her work ethic and care.
“She was a loving mother, a great neighbor, and a beautiful person. Everybody around here cared about her; everybody around here looked out for her.”
He said the woman attended his football games from childhood through high school.
“She made sure that she got to work every day, took care of her daughter; it was a beautiful soul we lost, a very beautiful soul today, two beautiful souls.”
The flames stopped just before Dylan’s home. A breezeway saved their apartment from destruction.
Emergency responders often secure fatal fire sites to protect evidence. Local investigators work to trace where and how flames began.
The Sherwood Police Department, the Fire Department, and the Fire Marshall’s office are investigating the fire. Anyone with helpful information should call the Sherwood Police Department.
