Fire Forces Families From Apartments In SW OKC

Several families were awakened late Tuesday night when fire and smoke filled an apartment in southwest Oklahoma City.

Firefighters say they ran into some complications while battling the fire near Interstate 240 and Interstate 44. The man who lived in the apartment where the fire started did not call 911, instead he called the fire station. Firefighters say that's a potentially dangerous mistake because calling 911 automatically retrieves the address of the caller. That's not done when someone directly calls the fire station.

Fire crews did, however, arrive at the scene within minutes. Oklahoma City Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Copeland said the location of the fire was also a challenge, because it was burning in the middle of the complex.

"This was down in the middle of the apartments, which is limited access for us," said Copeland. "We can't get any aerial ladders in there. We have to pull our lines by hand."

The fire was contained to just one apartment, and no one was hurt. Firefighters believe a heater started the fire.