When fire ripped through a University Manors apartment building at 120 E. 13th Ave. on Aug. 9, causing about $100,000 of damage, residents were lucky to escape uninjured.However, Mike Davis, 35, of Mansfield, Ohio, was forced to say goodbye to the building he had lived in since 1987. Davis studied at Ohio State as an undergraduate in computer science and now works as a systems specialist for the Department of Material Sciences and Chemical Engineering.The sad part for residents is that Columbus fire officials believe the blaze was no accident. Capt. Tom Huston from the Columbus Arson Bureau believes the fire was started in an overstuffed piece of furniture in the building’s garage.Davis recalls waking in the early morning hours that day.”I actually woke up. I heard this kind of crackling noise and it sounded a lot like rain hitting the roof out there so I kind of put it off,” Davis said. He then noticed a flickering light on his curtain, which he thought may have been a tow truck, but soon recognized as fire.Davis got dressed and phoned 911. He said he may have been the first one to notify officials about the blaze. Davis gave the dispatcher the information, and they told him to get himself and whoever else he could, out of the building.Davis said he initially had no idea how bad the fire was. “There was plenty of smoke in the room and there was a lot of smoke in the hallway, but there wasn’t a lot of heat yet,” he said.Barbara Slaven, of the Columbus Fire Department, said firefighters were able to gain control of the flames within an hour of Davis’ call.Davis said he and his fellow residents waited outside the building until 8 or 9 a.m. He recalled the first time he was allowed back into the building that he had called home for nearly 12 years.”You could look straight up and see the bottom of the roof all charred,” he said.Ironically, Davis said that the apartment building had just installed new carpets in the rooms, which were now soaked with water and ash.While his room was damaged considerably, Davis said he was lucky. He was able to recover his computer and stereo, but said the smoke stench on his clothes wouldn’t go away.”It gets in your nose and just hangs there,” Davis said. He said he has been forced to throw most of them away, but credits Columbus firefighters for salvaging what they could.”The firefighters were really good about trying to keep everything covered in plastic,” Davis said.University Manors moved Davis into a similar-style studio suite on 13th, less than even a block away. He said that they have given him the option of returning to the building once repairs have been made, but isn’t sure if he’ll take it.When asked about the possibility of arson, Davis stayed extremely calm.”It’s hard to say, I mean obviously we don’t know the motives behind it. I mean it could be pretty malicious, in which case I hope they catch him and prosecute him to the full extent,” Davis said.So what has he learned from this tragic ordeal?”Get renter’s insurance!” he laughed.