At least one person was injured in a fire at an apartment building near Merle Hay Mall Tuesday morning. Firefighters were called to 3710 57th Street around 6:00 a.m. after receiving reports of smoke coming from an apartment building, according to Ahman Douglass, a firefighter with the Des Moines Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, smoke was visible, and smoke alarms were sounding.
One victim suffered injuries in the fire and has been transported to a Des Moines hospital for treatment. Their condition has not been released. โAs of right now, just the one person reported with injuries, but we did manage to evacuate some children out of that same unit and then we actually performed a complete evacuation of the structure behind us,โ said Douglass.
Douglass said that some residents were rescued from balconies on the back side of the building. Douglass said it could be a while before residents were allowed back inside. The heroic actions of one resident helped alert neighbors, according to a first-floor resident Meranda Ollin. She said her upstairs neighbor noticed the fire in another apartment on the second floor.
