Early this morning the Lafayette Fire Department responded to Diamond Lakes Apartments on Ambassador Caffery Parkway.
According to investigators, the fire started in a bottom floor apartment occupied by a family of four. Four apartments did suffer some type of damage, but all five families made it out safely.
Jennifer Lavergne and her husband were asleep until smoke, heat and flames woke them up.
"I think it's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I close my eyes and I see the wall of flame," says Lavergne.
By the time Lavergne was able to grab whatever she could, the flames had blocked their escape.
"When we came out onto the patio there was just a wall of flames just right at the stairwell, and it really does roar like people say it does," she said.
The couple tried several different ways to get down, but it wasn't until a neighbor grabbed a water hose, they were able to walk down the staircase.
"He hosed off the stairwell long enough for the fire to stand back, so we could wrap ourselves up in the blanket and run down the stairs," says Lavergne.
According to Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit, the first call Friday morning was received at 1:23, and a truck was on the scene five minutes later. As for the families, the Red Cross has provided them a place to stay.