More than 40 people are homeless after a fire tore through an apartment building in DeKalb County.
The entire building was destroyed, but fortunately, no one was hurt.
When firefighters got to the apartment complex on Bouldercrest Road, there were at least 10 people trapped on a balcony, including children and one infant.
DeKalb Fire Rescue said the flames were already advancing to the rest of the building, but their first priority was saving lives.
The first four companies at the scene went into rescue mode, catching people jumping from the top floor, and getting a ladder to the balcony to pull people to safety.
Nineteen of the 25 units were occupied and the building is a complete loss.
Firefighters did have a problem at first getting enough water pressure from hydrants at the back of the complex.
Channel 2's Steve Gehlbach talked to two residents who are upset the fire took so long to put out.
"We just stood out here and watched for 30 to 40 minutes burn this way to other end. No water," said resident Bryan Strong.
"I see a lot of firemen stand around, no water. Water starts, the water stops. My apartment is gutted. I lost everything," said resident Wilburt Dawson.
But the two residents did not see the firefighters making those amazing rescues at the front of the building.
DeKalb Fire said their first job was to save lives, then try to save the property.
“We were literally rescuing people from the front balcony and from the side of this building. So our first priority was life safety. Once we made sure they were okay, then we could start focusing our efforts on fighting the fire," said Fire Capt. Jackson.
