Rescues in Ohio
CANAL WINCHESTER (James Jackson) — Tonight, firefighters are trying to figure out what started a fire at an apartment building, that had several people, including children, running for safety. It happened at the Moors at Countryview apartments, on Lowridge Drive, in Canal Winchester, just before 4 Sunday morning.
Marjorie Camacho says she was frightened, when the fire woke her up. Smoke was swallowing her second floor apartment. She says her first thought was to get her kids to safety. “Once I woke them up, I told them get out the house you know. Just grabbed the dog. Grabbed the little one. They got out,” Camacho said.
Neighbor Lori Hendricks also got a warning. “What I heard was somebody beating on my door and I was half asleep and they said fire,” Hendricks said.
She got her dog, Sugar, on her way out the door. “The best thing you’ve got to do is grab you know whatever you’ve got to. All my money and everything is in the house. So if it goes up in smoke, it goes up,” Hendricks said.
Firefighters say the fire started in the bedroom of an apartment, on the first floor. Three other units were damaged. Fire crews say they rescued 6 adults and 11 kids from those units.
The Red Cross is helping families in need. Emergency crews checked out Marjorie’s family and others. Even though her apartment is damaged, she’s grateful her kids walked away unharmed.
Firefighters say a man and a woman, in the first apartment that caught fire, breathed in smoke. They say the woman had minor burns, after trying unsuccessfully to save the man from the unit. A firefighter finally rescued him and they were both taken to the hospital.
Crews say the fire appears to be accidental.