VIDEO: A fire at the Willow Park Apartments on Des Moines’ south side early Thursday morning has left dozens of residents without a home. Fire crews were called to the scene at 6514 Chaffee Rd. around 12:15 a.m. and when they arrived flames were seen coming from the first and second floors with heavy smoke coming from the roof of the building. All of the residents were evacuated quickly, with many making sure their neighbors were out before exiting the building themselves. The flames engulfed the building and fire crews battled the blaze for hours. A similar fire at Willow Park Apartments happened in 2017, due to the building aging. Lt. Chris Bolton with the Des Moines Fire Department said, “It’s always concerning with these structures out here. The style of roof and it’s a non-sprinkler system. These were built before code got in to be able to get the sprinkler systems in here.”