Many displaced by morning fire

In a moderate, continuous drizzle a group of firefighters stood in a circle a few dozen feet from the building where their comrade fell down an elevator shaft in a five-story building early Thursday morning.

Firefighter Daryl Gordon, 54, died while an evacuation was underway in the building that city inspection records reveal had a litany of problems.

At noon, the smell of smoke still hung in the area.

Fire and police officials came and went from the scene. Some carried in a few pizzas for lunch.

On a bus, serving as a Red Cross shelter residents can go back inside, some residents stood together, some embraced, some smoked cigarettes.

It is still not clear how many residents suffered injuries in the fire.

Waiting for pizza to be delivered and now more than eight hours after the fire, some of the displaced tried to sleep and talked about the elevator – and how easily it could be mistaken for a door to another apartment.

It looked like any other door and residents said it would have been easy for someone unfamiliar with the building to open it and not realize it was an elevator shaft at all.

Windows and patio doors on the southern side of the five story building remained flung open. Christmas decorations, wreaths and garland still hung from some balconies.

There are 58 apartments in the building, according to Red Cross officials. Not all were occupied.

As of 1 p.m. the Red Cross had made contact with 23 of the 45 building residents but will work with all of them to help with disaster recovery, physical and mental health.

Residents first heard fire alarms ringing around 5:30 a.m.

Some residents on the second floor opened doors to find the hallway full of smoke.

"I woke up to screaming and shouting, opened my door and the smoke near knocked me over," said Clarence Mallory. "I couldn't even see down the hallway."