Firefighters knock holes into the ceiling of an Arlington apartment as they work to put out a fire Wednesday night. The fire consumed two apartment units.
An elderly woman was treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries after a two-alarm apartment fire Wednesday night.
Three Arlington police officers pulled the woman to safety at about 8:45 p.m. while fire consumed her apartment and the apartment upstairs.
The unidentified woman was taken to Arlington Memorial Hospital, authorities said. Other apartment residents threatened by the fire were either away from home or were safely evacuated by police, Sgt. R.P. Rogers said.
The call initially came into the Fire Department as a medical call, but when police and firefighters arrived at the St. James Place Condominiums, 1300 Cantor Drive, fire was lapping at the rooftop.
Officers Amy Wood, Brandy Albano and Doug Glotfelty saw the woman standing on her patio and pulled her over the fence, Rogers said. The woman was later placed into a waiting ambulance, Rogers said.
"It was so hot the officers could feel the flames on their faces," Rogers said. "Eventually, the fire blew out the windows to her apartment."
By 9:30 p.m., the flames were nearly extinguished and investigators were searching for the fire's point of origin, Chief Jeff Holloway said.
