An apartment fire in DeKalb County early Sunday left one person dead and several injured, one critically, as residents jumped from balconies to escape fast-spreading flames, Channel 2 Action News reported.
"There was, like, flames coming out of the porch and people started coming out with burns on their bodies," Luis Calder, a resident of the Heights on Chamblee apartment complex on Chamblee Tucker Road, told Channel 2. "It was chaos."
Witnesses said flames filled breezeways outside the apartments, blocking exit routes. One resident said she was forced to jump from a second-story balcony with her 1-year-old child. The woman suffered a leg injury; the child's condition was not immediately known.
Authorities have not identified the man who died in the apartment where the fire apparently began about 2 a.m. Two other residents were taken to hospitals.
DeKalb County firefighters quickly put out the fire, but stayed on the scene for several hours to extinguish hot spots.
Officials said the building's design contributed to the difficulty of fighting the fire.
"These are flat-roof buildings," Chief Edward O'Brien told Channel 2. "It holds everything in."
Firefighters, he said, were cutting into walls and roofs "to make sure there's no hidden fire."
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