Residents flee from burning Austintown apartment building
People living in a dozen apartments in an Austintown complex were forced outside by a fire that broke out Tuesday morning.
People living in a dozen apartments in an Austintown complex were forced outside by a fire that broke out Tuesday morning.
Township crews called for assistance from Canfield and Weathersfield when they found smoke pouring from the eaves and windows of a building shortly after 8 a.m. at the Fox Run Apartments on North Meridian Road.
Residents were forced to evacuate, and one person was taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Fire Chief Andrew Frost did not have a name, age, or current condition of the victim.
Some residents were trapped on the third floor of the building and had to be rescued from a balcony.
Frost believes that the fire originated in the kitchen of one of the apartments on the middle level of the building.
He says firefighters managed to contain the flames to that one apartment, but the rest of the building received heavy smoke damage.
The owner of the apartment is attempting to find residents another place to live. Other victims are staying with relatives.
The chief expects the damage estimate will be extensive.
