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Investigators say heater is to blame in Vidor apartment fire

Wyble is 7 months pregnant and says recent cold weather led them to turn on their heater for the first time since living there.

VIDOR — Alexandra Wyble and her boyfriend say they had only been living at the American Village Apartments in Vidor for only one month.

Wyble is 7 months pregnant and says recent cold weather led them to turn on their heater for the first time since living there.

"I asked him if the heater was on because it started smelling like the heater was just coming on for the first time," Wyble said.

Now the only thing left behind is a whole in the kitchen ceiling, and personal items.

"Watching all this smoke come out to the other side of this building, that's when he saw flames right here,” Wyble said.

Chief Robert Smith with the Orange County ESD 1 says the fire was caused by a malfunction in the heating unit. He says even though the burning smell when turning on a heater is a normal, it should only last a few minutes.

"Sometimes it will set off a smoke detector but if it progresses more than one or two minutes I would say turn the power off and have it checked out immediately," Chief Smith said.

Wyble says keeping a positive attitude through all of the pain and destruction is the only way to overcome hard times.

"You have to be positive, or else it's really hard to get through things in life if you're really pessimistic," Wyble said.

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