Residents at apartment complex blame hoarding for deadly fire

GLENDALE, Ariz. - A young man is in very bad shape at a Valley hospital, after a fire at his apartment early Monday morning.

The fire happened at an apartment complex near 51st Avenue and Northern, and killed the man's girlfriend. Now, people who live at the complex say they are upset about the situation that may have led to the fire.

Chris Brannan was across from the units that caught fire when the fire happened. He woke up to the blaze at around 2:30 a.m. Monday. 

"Heather's boyfriend was out on the grass yelling and screaming 'she's trapped inside. Heather's inside'," said Brannan. "He kept trying to get up and get to a fire extinguisher or something. It was horrible."

Heather, a young woman in her 20s, along with her dog, did not make it out of the upstairs apartment unit. Neighbors are heartbroken and angry, because they believe 

 They are also angry because according to them, the tenant who lives in the apartment unit where the fire started was a hoarder who had been told to clear off his patio before.

"It's the loss of a wonderful woman for crap, and there's no words to describe how angry I am. She was wonderful," said one person.

"She's losing her life, her friend or whatever he is to her. He's over in the County, in the Burn Unit, fighting for his life because of this man and all of his trash that he kept hoarding in, all day every day," said another person.

Glendale Fire Department officials are still investigating the cause, but say it did start on the patio of the bottom apartment unit, and confirm there was a hoarder situation.