Ohio Firefighters Rescue Man from Balcony

Oct 12, 2009

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio --

A Springfield man is being treated at a local hospital after firefighters rescued him from the balcony of his burning apartment building.

The fire happened in the 1300 block of Clifton Avenue in Springfield just after midnight Monday morning.

Firefighters said the large old house has been divided into four apartment units, two on the first floor and two on the second floor.

Cpt. Bruce George said, "We found one person on the balcony, needing assistance, only one other person in the four-unit structure was home, they were already out of the building."

Firefighters said parmedics took the injured man to Community Hospital, where his condition is being evaluated.

Crew then turned their attention to putting out the flames, they said it took about 30 minutes to get the fire under control.

Investigators said there is heavy damage to the two first-floor apartments and smoke damage to the second-floor apartments.

Firefighters shut off the building's power supply. They said the Red Cross is helping residents find temporary places to stay, all four units were occupied, two residents were not home at the time of the fire.

Springfield firefighters said they do not think the fire was a case of arson, they think it may have started around the stairwell that leads from the basement to the first floor.

Investigators are checking into a possible electrical problem but have not officially ruled on a cause for the flames.

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