A massive fire at a DeKalb County apartment complex left one woman seriously injured and displaced 19 late Wednesday night, according to authorities.
The fire broke out shortly before 11 p.m. at the Landing at Pleasantdale Apartments on Meadowglenn Village Lane, DeKalb fire Capt. Jaeson Daniels said. Heavy flames were coming from the building, which neighbors said was already halfway engulfed by the time firefighters arrived.
Daniels said several people had already escaped by jumping from a second-story balcony. The woman who was injured had received burns to more than 30% of her body and was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition, he said. She underwent surgery, but an update on her condition was not available Thursday morning.
No other significant injuries were reported, Daniels said. Ten of the building’s 20 units were damaged, and the ones without damage do not have power. The Red Cross is providing assistance for at least 15 of the displaced residents, the organization confirmed.
In the moments before fire crews arrived, neighbors banged on doors and yelled for others to get out, they told Channel 2 Action News.
“The dog was barking; the patio door was open; I came out and saw the big flame. I was yelling there’s a fire, there’s a fire,” resident Al Devoe told the news station. “It was terrifying. It was blazing.”
Another resident, Rufus Rivers III, said he heard the commotion and looked out his window only to see an orange glow. He and another neighbor grabbed their fire extinguishers and tried to put out the flames, but it was too much.
Officials said the fire started in the breezeway of the building, but they did not share details about what may have caused it.
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