HILLCREST HEIGHTS, Md. (WUSA9) -- Twenty seven people were displaced after a three-alarm fire on the second floor of an apartment building in Hillcrest Heights Thursday evening, authorities said.
The fire happened at 3103 Good Hope Ave on the second floor of the apartment building around 5 p.m., according to authorities. The fire spread to parts of the third and fourth floor of the eight floor building.
Some residents were forced to jump from their balconies in order to get out of their apartments. A resident driving a truck pulled around to the front of the building to help get residents out of the burning building.
"They were jumping from the 5th floor, swinging from the 5th floor balcony into the 4th floor balcony, kind of like Spider-Man. And from their they were swinging from the 4th to the 3rd. And then there was a silver Toyota Tundra pick-up truck that had pulled up underneath the balcony," shared Lt. Donald Fletcher with the Prince George's County Fire Department.
David Gomez was the driver and helped those residents to safety. He was a humble hero. He credited God with giving him the idea to get the truck.
Residents say the unit where the fire started was occupied by a hoarder. Fire officials tell WUSA9 that the resident had oxygen tanks that may have prompted the fire -- the hoarding didn't help matters.
Resident Carol Jones watched firefighters battle the fire. Her face showed pain with the uncertainty. "I don't know what to do. To go back to my sister's or what. Can we go in or can we not go in tonight? Or what?"
No one was hurt, in large part becuase of the first responders.
Prince George's County Fire Chief Marc Bashoor shared, "I was with my family in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner but you know, it's important for us to be out here with the community, and in this case, our firefighters were actually together at a fire station, this battalion was together eating when this call came out."
Republished with permission of WUSA9.com.
