A firefighter was injured early Friday battling an apartment fire in southwest Atlanta.
The fire was reported just before 4:30 a.m. at the Shamrock Gardens complex on Honeysuckle Lane off Campbellton Road.
No residents were reported injured, but a firefighter suffered a possible back injury when he fell from a ladder on the second floor, Atlanta fire Batt. Chief George Howell told the AJC.
Atlanta Fire spokesman Capt. M. McDaniel said the firefighter, who was not identified, fell about 25 feet. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.
The fire, which was contained to the 1800 building in the complex, heavily damaged eight units, Howell said.
The first-arriving firefighters found heavy flames showing from multiple sides of the two-story brick building, Howell said.
He said fire crews were first told there were possibly people still inside the building, but that wasn't the case.
Vanessa Brown told the AJC that her apartment was just above the unit where the fire apparently started.
Brown, who lives alone, said she woke up about 4 a.m., looked at her clock, “and said, ‘I’ve got another hour to sleep.’”
“Then, I heard the people downstairs say, ‘it’s a fire, it’s a fire, y’all get out,’” Brown said.
Brown said she went to her back door, but couldn’t get out because of the flames, so she went out her front door.
“It was scary,” Brown said.
“I couldn’t see, there was so much smoke,” she said. "I just felt the rail and once I got the rail, I just went down the steps.”
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