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20 people displaced by 2-alarm fire at Hampton apartment complex

The call came in around 10:10 a.m. of a structure fire at Century Plaza Apartments in the 100 block of Lassiter Drive.

HAMPTON, Va. (WVEC) -- Firefighters from Hampton and Newport News battled a two-alarm blaze at an apartment complex in Hampton on Saturday morning that left 20 people displaced.

The call came in around 10:10 a.m. of a structure fire at Century Plaza Apartments in the 100 block of Lassiter Drive. It took about 25 minutes to bring the fire under control, according to Hampton Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Shawn Lazar.

Pictures from the scene show flames shooting up from the roof of one of the buildings.

There were no injuries reported to emergency personnel or civilians.

About 15 fire units were involved, including some from Newport News.

According to Lazar, eight apartment units in all were destroyed. He said that the building has 16 units, but half were protected by the firewall separating them.

The cause is currently unknown. Investigators have not yet been able to gain access to the unit where the fire started.

Lazar said the Red Cross was on scene assisting the displaced residents.

Neighbor Sandra Booker says smoke from the fire is what woke her up this morning.

"It was worse than a strong fog, you couldn't see. I looked all the way down and you couldn't see nothing. You couldn't hardly see anything from the smoke," said Booker.

People were sprinting out of the Century Plaza apartments across from Booker's house. And it was nerve racking for Booker to watch.

"It made me nervous because I saw smoke coming from the bottom window, and after that I saw high flames coming up though the ceiling," said Booker.

One woman who didn't ant to go on camera, lost everything to the fire, and she says it was scary to wake up to.

"Just like banging on the door and I was just like what's going on. And as soon as I went outside, that's just when I seen the smoke, and I was just shaking. So I said 'babe, let's grab the kids, it's time to go," said the neighbor.

The woman said she's just glad they all got out.

"I wasn't thinking about anything but the kids, I just wanted to leave, I was so traumatized," said the neighbor.

PHOTOS: 2-alarm fire at Hampton apartment complex

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