INDIANAPOLIS — Two residents and two firefighters were injured after a fire erupted at an apartment complex on Indy’s west side Thursday evening.
Firefighters with the Wayne Township Fire Department were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. to the 7800 block of Island Club Drive after receiving multiple reports of an active apartment fire with possible entrapment.
WTFD said firefighters arrived on the scene and observed heavy fire emerging from the third floor of the apartments as occupants were busy evacuating. Shortly after arriving, firefighters were made aware that several people were trapped inside some units on the back side of the complex.
Firefighters were able to use a ladder to rescue one resident from the apartment’s third floor. That occupant was transported to an area hospital in “serious condition,” according to WTFD.
Another individual managed to get away from the flames by jumping off a balcony of the apartment complex’s second story. That victim received medical treatment and was released on the scene, according to WTFD.
WTFD Public Information Officer Eric Banister confirmed that two firefighters were also injured while responding to the fire, with one being transported to an area hospital with minor injuries and the other being treated on scene.
Banister said firefighters received help from a boater in the area who made them aware of additional people who needed assistance.
“As we went around the back to see if there was anyone on the back side of the fire, a boater was pointing at the building and there were people on the second and third floor that needed help,” Banister said. “On our way to help them, he pointed them out to us.”
WTFD added that multiple pets were also recovered from the apartments and that no animals were injured during the incident.
Banister praised the community’s efforts in making sure everyone was accounted for even before first responders arrived.
“I talked to one of the apartment maintenance persons who went to the third floor and the second floor knocking on doors and trying to help people get out so there were a lot of heroes today long before the fire trucks got here,” Banister said.
The Speedway Fire Department and Indianapolis Fire Department also assisted at the scene.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
