Aug. 04--Oklahoma City firefighters rescued a wheelchair-bound man after a fire broke out at a northwest metro complex and ripped through multiple units, fire officials said.
Two firefighters were injured while battling the blaze, which started about 6:40 p.m. Saturday at the Mayridge Apartments, 5660 N May Avenue, Battalion Chief Mike Walker said.
Walker called the fire suspicious; investigators are testing for traces of accelerant in a second-story breezeway where the fire is thought to have started.
The wheelchair-bound man was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation injuries. One firefighter hurt his back while slipping down stairs, and another was treated for heat-related illness, Walker said.
Firefighters initially extinguished the blaze in roughly 10 minutes, but it rekindled, calling for a four-alarm response, Walker said.
Conditions create risk
The hot weather put firefighters at additional risk for overheating in heavy gear while they worked to put the fire out.
Neighbors reported hearing a couple screaming at each other on the second floor before the fire broke out, and rumors spread that a meth lab had exploded, witnesses said.
The rumors called for the response of a hazardous materials team. No evidence, like drug paraphernalia, was found, but it remains a possibility, Walker said.
Eight units are uninhabitable after the fire, and the power was turned off at the complex.
Some residents were extremely distressed following the incident.
An Oklahoma City police officer tried to calm a pregnant woman screaming as she crouched in the grass. Baby clothes had burned up in the fire, and tensions ran high among the woman and her relatives, Walker said.
Resident Marni Reimer lives at Mayridge with her 15-year-old daughter. Her daughter grabbed their cat and they ran outside as smoke quickly filled their home.
"Luckily, ours is only smoke damaged," she said.
Reimer was not sure where she or her daughter would stay for the night and asked American Red Cross volunteers at the scene for assistance.
One resident was arrested on a felony warrant after the blaze drew police to the area, Walker said.
Copyright 2013 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
