About 1,000 people in the University area were without heat Sunday night because of an apartment fire at 1200 Dickerson Drive.
The fire at the La Vida Nueva apartment complex left occupants standing across the street in the cold, watching as flames burned the top floor of unit eight around 4 p.m.
Public Affairs Officer Mike Paiz with the Albuquerque Fire Department said 315 apartments had their utilities shut off, because gas leaks were found in the line.
He said it is standard to turn off utilities when fighting a fire.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said.
Laura Smith, an apartment resident and a student at TVI, said she noticed the smoke when she was doing laundry.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Smith has lived in the apartment for three years. She said this is the third fire at the complex. Smith said the fire Sunday was the second fire within a month at the complex.
She said the apartment administration has not said anything to its tenants about the fires.
"I'm going there in the morning," she said. "I'm not paying my rent until they get this building inspected."
Paiz said the fire department was aware of two previous fires at the complex but said they are still under investigation.
Unit eight, where the fire originated, housed 24 apartments. Twenty-two of those apartments were occupied. Paiz said all occupants were evacuated, and everyone was accounted for.
No injuries were reported, although one woman was taken to UNMH. It was not clear if it was related to the fire.
Paiz said the south side of the building was completely destroyed.
The fire department was working with the Red Cross to shelter all evacuees at the old Job Corps building on Indian School Road and 12th Street on Sunday.
