Aug. 27--Detroit firefighters saved most of an apartment building this morning after a fire started at about 8 a.m. on the city's west side.
An aggressive attack contained the fire to about three or four units, Detroit Battalion Chief Edmond Parker said.
Parker said that because of the quick response, firefighters were able to keep the blaze to a first-alarm fire. No injuries were immediately reported, and firefighters remain on the scene, hosing down lingering hot spots.
The cause of the fire at Ramblewood Apartments is under investigation, Parker said.
"It was scary," said Monique Dawkins, 27. "I fell down the stairs trying to get out of there."
She was sleeping in apartment across the hall from the fire when she heard smoke alarms. She only had time to grab her keys, her purse and her firearm before exiting. She didn't have time to grab Chase, her ball python who is less than a year old.
But the fire appears to have left her apartment intact.
Parker said the fire started in a third-floor apartment.
"The men and women in Detroit did an excellent job extinguishing this fire," he said. "This could have easily went to a third or fourth alarm fire. Easily."
Karen Brooks, 32, stood outside watching the firefighters while her 2-year-old son, Jaden, was wrapped in a blanket.
"We just got out," she said, adding that her son is "doing good."
Copyright 2014 - Detroit Free Press
