OKMULGEE, Okla. — The smell of smoke filled the air as firefighters worked to put out flaming embers, hours after a massive fire destroyed Okmulgee’s historic Black Apartment building, built in 1920.
Okmulgee resident Greg Hughey described what he woke up and saw across the street.
“I heard some dogs barking, and just kind of looked out my window, and I saw a little flame, and all of a sudden it just went up. The entire roof just went up, and I could see the floors falling,” Hughey said.
The Okmulgee Fire Department (OFD) said nobody was injured, but the fire also destroyed the roof of a home next door, which dates to same time period.
A relative of the owner said the owner wasn’t home when the fire happened.
OFD said the apartment building doesn’t have utilities turned on and has been vacant for the past 10 to 15 years.
They said they’ve had problems with homeless people trying to stay warm, but there’s not enough left inside to investigate.
Hughey said he kept hoping someone would come in and renovate the historic building.
“I think it’s a well built building. It’s shame that it’s been condemned so long,” Hughey said.
A realtor who was out assessing the damage said a contract with an investor had been signed and was set to close in 10 days.
She declined an interview, but said the property was likely going to be converted into housing for OSU IT students.
Firefighters said the building is still very dangerous, because the walls could collapse at any moment without the wooden structure that’s to support them.
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