VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Five people, including a child, were rescued from the second floor of a Lake Edward area apartment that caught fire on Tuesday night, officials said.
At around 6:30 p.m., Andrea Koltz and Timothy Nicoll heard banging on their door
"It was a young lady and she was saying, 'There’s a fire, you need to get out, you need to get out right now there’s a fire!'" said Koltz.
The mother and son ran outside to see flames shooting up from the corner of their building.
"I saw a flame and I felt it first," described Nicoll. "You know, a lot of times they say you'll feel fire before you see it and that's true. So, I walked out and it was like a 20-foot flame."
Koltz said their particular unit is unscathed.
"It was still kinda scary. When we came out everything was up in flames in that corner," added Koltz.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department (VBFD) said heavy smoke was coming from the second story of the complex located on Hampshire Lane shortly before 6:30 p.m.
Using ground ladders, crews were able to help four adults, a child, and several pets down to safety after becoming trapped due to heavy smoke.
"They put the ladder up and they passed his child out and then his wife out and then he got out on the ladder," said Koltz.
Lake Edwards area apartment fire
VBFD said two residents were taken to a hospital for injuries considered Basic Life Support (BLS), and one firefighter suffered a dog bite injury.
Animal Control also responded to help, with one cat receiving oxygen.
VBFD said 16 units were impacted, displacing an undetermined number of residents.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Koltz and Nicoll say they’re lucky their unit wasn’t burned and they can sleep in their own beds.
"We’re just lucky it didn’t engulf more of the building," said Nicoll.
"Yeah we are lucky, we are very lucky," agreed Koltz.