FIRE BREAKS OUT AT THE ANTLERS

TWO TRANSPORTED TO THE HOSPITAL

Residents of the Antler’s at 300 Washington Ave in Lorain scrambled to get out of the apartment building Monday afternoon after smoke filled the hallways.

Chief Tom Brown of the Lorain Fire Department said they received a call of an apartment on fire around 2:49 p.m. “We arrived and found heavy smoke in the hallways and fire in the bedroom of apartment 104. Firefighters attacked the fire and knocked it down pretty quick but we still had the issue of the thick smoke in the building.”

Some residents questioned why they were being asked by Firefighters to stay inside of their apartments at first. Chief Brown explained that with the thick smoke in the hallways and none in the apartment the choice was clear. “We evaluated the situation and decided that keeping them inside of their apartments where there was no smoke was safer then bringing them out through the hallways that were filled with thick black smoke. We were able to ventilate with our exhaust fans and then extricate everybody safely.”

Chief Brown said that there was one resident found in the hallway overcome by smoke. “She was immediately transported by LifeCare Paramedics to Community Health Partners and our dispatch received calls from another resident on the first floor who was complaining of difficulty breathing. We sent a team in and safely removed her from her apartment and turned her over to the LifeCare crew on the street. She was also taken to Community Health Partners for evaluation.”

The residents of apartment 104 where the fire broke out were able to escape without injury. Russell Brown and his wife were in the apartment at the time of the fire. “My wife has had a lot of medical problems and we have a small space heater that she takes around with her in the apartment. She had it in the bedroom near the bed because she is always cold and the electric heater / air conditioner unit that comes with the apartment just doesn’t keep the rooms warm enough for her.” Brown said he was in another room and heard his wife scream, when he went to see what was wrong he saw the fire overtaking the entire bedroom area. “It was going pretty good so we just grabbed our coats and got out of there as soon as we could. I’m just glad that nobody was hurt in all of this.”


The American Red Cross had just finished interviewing Brown before we spoke to him; they told him that they would be placing him and his wife in an area hotel.


The Lorain Fire Department will be investigating the fire to find the exact cause.


To see more photos from the scene: CLICK HERE