Three people died and at least eight others were injured in a two-alarm fire that engulfed an apartment complex in north Columbus, Ohio, on Friday afternoon. Firefighters responded to the blaze at Broadmeadows Plaza Apartments, located in the 200 block of Broad Meadows Boulevard, around 2:45 p.m., according to Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter.
The 39-unit building quickly filled with smoke, trapping residents inside. Multiple people were rescued using ladders as flames spread and Columbus police officers assisted firefighters in the effort. “Multiple ground ladders were being raised to all the windows. CPD officers were assisting us,” Chief Geitter stated, as reported by 10tv.com. Some residents were forced to climb out of windows to escape the rapidly escalating situation.
Claude Clark III, a resident of the building, described the harrowing scene. “The people across the hall were yelling, ‘run position your head down and run.’ by the time I started to run you couldn’t see anything,” he recalled to WSYX. He found himself trapped and considered jumping from his window before being rescued by firefighters with a ladder. A neighbor also assisted in helping him and two others escape.
Paul Robinson, who lives on the third floor, recounted how firefighters came to his rescue as the door to his apartment began to grow warm. “The fireman saw me in the window… and brought me down the ladder,” he said.
At least eleven people were transported to local hospitals, with three later succumbing to their injuries. The cause of the fire, which originated on the first floor, remains under investigation. The American Red Cross is currently providing assistance to those displaced by the fire, according to 10tv.com. Don Hawkins with the American Red Cross stated, “Someone lost a loved one or loved ones today, and it is horrifying.”
Residents noted that many elderly individuals lived in the complex. As of Friday evening, the investigation continued, and the full extent of the damage was still being assessed.
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