Walter Reed and a friend arrived at his apartment located at 413 S. 22nd St. about 4:40 p.m. When Walter opened the door to the second floor apartment, "he noticed heavy smoke coming down the steps," Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Grimmett said.
Walter hollered upstairs to his mother, Lynetta Dent, 47, who had taken some medication and fallen asleep, Grimmett said.
Walter, after awakening his mother, told her the apartment was on fire and told her to hang out of the window of the apartment. Patrolman Martez Hudson was driving by and saw the woman hanging from the window and he stopped to help. Meanwhile, Walter's friend had run off to call the Fire Department.
Dent was hanging out of the window when firefighters arrived.
Two firefighters, Cory Stroten and Chris Harris, rushed inside and found Dent.
"Cory snatched the lady while Chris assisted him and both men brought the woman down the steps to safety," Grimmett said.
She was given oxygen and she refused further medical attention.
The fire started in an upstairs bedroom and within 10 minutes firefighters had it under control.
Grimmett said the cause of the fire is under investigation. The bedroom where the fire started sustained extensive damage. Other rooms in the apartment sustained water and smoke damage.
