Thomas Taylor sat on a curb at Woodhill Apartments Monday afternoon, his back to the controlled mayhem, the shouting firefighters and the smoke. His apartment was burning, along with several others.

“Someone came in where I work, across the street, and told me my apartment was on fire,” Taylor said. “I ran over here but there were just flames. I couldn’t get in. I’ve lost everything.”

DRC/Al Key

Denton and Lewisville firefighters battle a 2-alarm fire at the Woodhill Apartments Monday evening April 20, 2009, in Denton.

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The fire started about 5:30 p.m. and affected seven units at the complex in the 1400 block of Teasley Lane.

Several people lost their homes, but no one was injured.

And Taylor didn’t quite lose everything.

Taylor’s roommate dashed inside the apartment and rescued their cat, putting it in a small carrier for safe keeping. They had just rescued Alexander from the pound a few days earlier, Taylor said. Now the gray kitten had been rescued again.

Taylor petted the kitten though the cage as his mother tried to comfort him.

“They said a couple of girls walked by and saw a fire on our patio,” the University of North Texas Criminal Justice major said. “Then it just went up. There wasn’t anything out there but a table and a chair and a little rug.”

Denton Fire Battalion Chief Ken Gold said the fire moved quickly across attics.

The complex is constructed with a lot of wood on the exterior and “truss” floors, Gold said.

“Truss floors are real strong when they’re intact, but when they start to go, they go,” he said.

The heavy flames and the flooring made going inside dangerous work and the firefighters worked from the outside and also sprayed water on surrounding units to keep the fire from spreading.

“There was a lot of fire when we got here,” Gold said. “I immediately called in a second alarm. I’ve worked fires here before.”

A second alarm meant that Lewisville responded with a ladder truck, and Krum, Lake Cities and Argyle firefighters responded to help staff Denton stations. An off-duty shift of firefighters responded as well. But Denton units had the fire mostly under control by the time Lewisville arrived.

Residents of other units stood on their balconies or milled around behind the fire lines watching. Many employed their cell phone cameras to photograph the firefighters at work. A doctor’s assistant walked over from a nearby office offering medical assistance but there were no injuries. Smoke formed a stifling cloud that burned the eyes of passersby.

A woman who answered the telephone at the Woodhill offices said she had no comment and that the manager wasn’t available.

Captain Brad Lahart, public information officer for the fire department, said arrangements already had been made to house the people in the unit. Woodhill managers found empty apartments in their holdings, five of them fully furnished, he said.

Guillermo Espinal, with the American Red Cross, said the agency would provide food and water for the responders and victims, plus clothing, shelter and counseling for victims who needed it.

Fire investigator Dean Bray said he was waiting for the fire to be completely extinguished before he could begin trying to determine the cause of the blaze.

Neither the cause nor an estimate of damages was available at press time.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com