To escape a fire in Sandy Springs that destroyed 18 apartment units, a mother says she threw her children from a second floor balcony.
The fire happened around 4 p.m. on Friday at the Azalea Park apartments, and Raven Hines told Channel 2 Action News that her staircase was blocked by flames. Several neighbors were waiting below and told Hines they would catch the children.
So she lifted her one-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter over the railing and tossed them. Neighbors caught them and they didn’t suffer any injuries.
Hines wasn’t as lucky. After her children were safe, she jumped from the balcony, which left her with a fractured leg and a gash on her forehead.
“I saw the smoke and I knew the fire was close. I remember seeing the melting,” Hines told Channel 2. “... (Hines’ son) was looking up at me like, ‘Why did you just do this? Why?’.”
Sharon Kraun, the spokeswoman for Sandy Springs, said the structure fire began before 4 p.m. at the apartment complex located off Dunwoody Place.
Kraun said that no injuries were reported on Monday.
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The Hines family has set up a GoFundMe account to replace everything they lost. As of Tuesday morning, they had raised $700 of a $5,000 goal.
Sam Worsham of Sandy Springs Police said that “one whole building” was “fully engulfed” in flames.
According to the apartment complex's website, floor plans range from one to three bedrooms, and rent per-month ranges from $835 to $1,875.
On Monday, Kraun said that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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