Fort Worth apartment fire displaces several families

FORT WORTH, Texas - More than a dozen people were forced out of their homes on Thursday morning because of a fire at an apartment complex in Fort Worth.

What we know:

The fire started just before 7 a.m. off Remington Drive, just east of Interstate 30 and Highway 183.

A nearby Texas Department of Transportation camera caught the first look at the flames. An hour later, the fire was still smoldering.

"We had to go from an offensive tactical standpoint to a defensive, meaning it got to the point where the buildings were too unsafe for us to be inside and try to extinguish the fire," said Fort Worth Fire Department Spokesman Craig Trojecek.

The fire ultimately impacted four units in the three-story building. Thirteen people, including two children, were displaced.

What they're saying:

Monique Angol said she and her friend were getting their day started when the fire started. She had already seen her daughter off to school, and then began to smell and see smoke.

The aftermath has been emotional and difficult. 

"I need some help right now. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do," Angol said tearfully. "We grabbed what we could. Everything is in there: my birth certificate, my social, my daughter’s clothes, my daughter’s new bed. Oh, my documents. Oh, my documents. I have nowhere to go, no family here."

The family’s cat is also still unaccounted for.

"We tried to get him out. I think he was hiding and they couldn’t find him," she said.

What we don't know:

Trojecek said firefighters believe the blaze started on an upper level, but they’re not exactly sure where.

The cause of the fire is also unknown and still under investigation.