A Charlottesville sheriff’s deputy is being credited with helping seven people escape a fire in an apartment complex Thursday morning, according to city fire department officials.
Two city deputies were among the first to discover the fire in a vacant apartment in a building in the 700 block of Prospect Avenue around 10 a.m. Thursday, said Joe George, assistant city fire chief.
“Two [deputies] were driving through the area and were the first to notice the smoke and flames,” George said in a news release. “One deputy helped rescue seven people from the building and attempted to go back in, but the smoke was too thick.”
The deputy and another person were taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, officials said.
George said when firefighters got to the building a few minutes after the call, they found heavy flames and smoke coming from the building.
“Firefighters controlled the fire in under 10 minutes while also rescuing a person from the second floor,” George said. “If not for the deputy’s heroic actions, this incident may have had a different outcome.”
George said the apartment where the fire began was vacant and is a total loss. Two other apartments were damaged by smoke, and the families living there are temporarily displaced. He said the American Red Cross is assisting those families.
The fire is still under investigation and total damages have not yet been fully assessed, George said.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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