“I Kept Crying”: Family Displaced in Fullerton Apartment Fire

A family was displaced and a firefighter hurt after a fire erupted in a Fullerton apartment Sunday morning, officials said. 

"Some guy gave us a microwave and it blew up," Lilliana Ramzy, 10, said. 

Lilliana and her family fled the early morning blaze in tears, she said, as the fire erupted just after 2:15 a.m. in the 1500 block of Welldow Lane.

Fullerton Fire Department firefighters arrived to find a kitchen in the two-story apartment building on fire. The flames extended into the second level floor, Fullerton Fire Department Battalion Chief John Stokes said.

"I kept crying, and I kept looking at those flames as they got bigger and bigger," Lilliana said. "My room got demolished since it was under the kitchen."

A fire captain fell from a ladder to the second story 12 feet below while battling the blaze. He was taken to the hospital, but is expected to be OK.

Everyone inside of the apartment made it out safely and were uninjured, officials said. 

"I tried to save my family," said Lilliana's father, Roufail Ayad, after escaping the flames.

The fire was knocked down just after 2:45 a.m.

Investigators were on scene to determine the cause of the fire.

The Red Cross was helping the displaced family.