Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews found flames coming from a third floor building at the Ruskin Place apartment complex near Warlick and Old Cheney around 9:30 Thursday morning.
“We were able to extinguish the fire pretty quickly,” says LFR Captain Nancy Crist. “The fire had already extended up into the attic space. That is always a concern for us making it dangerous for us to work beneath that roof.”
Tori Moore lives in the apartment building and tells KLIN News she went to her car to grab something and saw and smelled smoke. When she walked to the other side, the third floor balcony was engulfed in flames.
She says a woman who lives in the apartment that burned was standing outside with no shoes. “So I ran in and grabbed her a blanket got her covered up and walked her to the ambulance. As soon as we saw the ambulance pull her up I walked her there because she needed to be checked out.
Moore also tells KLIN News a man who lives there was assisted by another resident. LFR confirms one person was taken to the hospital for treatment. In addition to the unit where the fire started there is smoke damage to the rest of the building.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and damage is estimated at $250,000.