OKC man jumps from window to avoid apartment fire

NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A three-alarm apartment fire forced a man to leap from a two-story window.

The fire broke out at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday at the Northridge Apartments on Britton Road just off Council.

When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out of an upstairs window. They were able to get inside and knock down the fire quickly.

Damage could have been worse if it wasn't for someone who wasn't even there.

"The gentleman who lives there, he lives there by himself, was talking on the phone with a relative," Oklahoma City Fire Department District Chief Mike Walker said. "They heard him yell, ‘Fire,' and the phone went dead. Other reports we have, he jumped from a window to get away from the apartment."

The man chipped a tooth while escaping and the apartment manager fell and cut her chin at the scene.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Damage is estimated at $30,000.