Firefighters Save Four People from Oklahoma City Apartment Fire

By Emily Wood, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Firefighters made a dramatic rescue carrying four people down a ladder from two second-story units at an apartment complex in northwest Oklahoma City this morning.

The Elm Creek Apartment managers are now working with the Red Cross to help eight displaced families find temporary places to stay.

One young couple rescued just moved into the unit in February. Eddie Barnhill and Kelly Hill say they were trying to make a new start. They lost their new seven-week-old puppy in the blaze.

According to police, a minor injury to a firefighter was sustained while performing overhaul operations.

The cause of the fire is undetermined but started in a vacant apartment that was being used for storage, police said. According to police, it appears that a vagrant was possibly using a hibachi grill inside the vacant apartment.

Building and contents value was estimated at $925,000 with a loss of approximately $350,000.