2 p.m. update:
Tuesday's fatal fire at the Polo Run Apartments, 126 Manor Lane, originated in a commons area on the first floor of the building, Hot Springs police Cpl. Kirk Zaner said Wednesday afternoon.
Zaner said police have not yet been able to identify the victim, a male whose body suffered extensive burns.
Zaner said the victim was believed to have been a resident on the second or third floor, not the first floor as initially reported.
Original article:
One man was killed, two people were injured and numerous residents had to be rescued, some by jumping from upper-story windows, after a fire on the first floor of an apartment complex on Manor Circle Tuesday evening, Hot Springs fire and police said.
Hot Springs Fire Chief Ed Davis said the fatality occurred on the first floor of what Hot Springs police identified as Polo Run Apartments, 126 Manor Lane.
Davis said one person was "seriously injured" after jumping from a third-floor window. Hot Springs police Cpl. Kirk Zaner said the woman injured her leg when she jumped and was transported to a local hospital.
Zaner said a second person suffered minor burns and was also transported to a hospital.
Several other people suffered minor injuries, mainly smoke inhalation, Davis said.
Zaner said the call came in at 5:37 p.m., and two officers who arrived less than 60 seconds after they were dispatched found the hallway fully engulfed in flames, as was the apartment where the deceased male was located.
Davis said the fire was under control by 5:50 p.m.
A witness who asked not to be identified said he observed a family of six, four adults and two small children, literally jump out of a window. One girl was cut, and there was "blood everywhere."
Two unidentified men came up and "climbed up the wall like Spider-Man" using the pipes outside the building, and helped lower people down from the second- and third-floor windows, he said.
He said the two men, who left the scene after helping, were "definitely heroes."
The witness said he and "lots of people" were trying to help, yelling for people to jump and catching them as they did.
He said the smoke was so heavy you couldn't see the firefighters but could hear them breathing through their lifesaving apparatus.
Five people were immediately visible in distress, hanging out of a third-floor window, when firefighters arrived, Davis said.
As far as how many people had to be rescued, Davis said "I really don't have a count. There were quite a few people who were rescued in distress."
"The fire department for sure saved people's lives," Zaner said. "Our fire department did an outstanding job. Hot Springs citizens should be proud of them."
Davis said electrical service had to be terminated to six apartments Monday night, and those cannot be occupied until approved by the city's electrical inspector.
He said four engine companies and a truck company as well as incident commander and administrative staff, responded to the fire.
Firefighters conducted a floor-by-floor search of the first, second and third floors of the complex to make sure everyone was accounted for.
While fire damage was confined to the first floor, smoke and heat damage was "pretty prevalent" on the second and third floors, Davis said.
The fire occurred right between shifts, so plenty of personnel responded, according to a Hot Springs police officer at the scene.
Local on 03/28/2018