Tulsa apartment fire under investigation

An early Tuesday morning apartment fire on Tulsa's south side left several residents trapped on their balconies. <br/><br/>Tulsa firefighters arrived in time to save them. 6 in the Morning reporter

Tuesday, December 21st 2004, 5:34 am

By: News On 6

An early Tuesday morning apartment fire on Tulsa's south side left several residents trapped on their balconies.

Tulsa firefighters arrived in time to save them. 6 in the Morning reporter Omar Villafranca says residents at the apartment complex on 62nd and Rockford woke up Tuesday morning to some heavy smoke and flames.

Around 2 AM, Tulsa firefighters responded to alarms. Once on the scene, they saw that several people were trapped on their balconies. A few residents had already jumped down. Ladder crews acted quickly and were able to rescue the remaining people on higher floors.

The Martin family was trapped in one of the units that was heavily damaged. Devon Martin turns 15 years old Tuesday and he's just happy his family made it out alive. "We tried to get out the front door, but it was, like, all on fire and we were indeed trapped up there. My mom panicking, she's trying to get us all down. I love my mom. I'm glad she's that her and my sister are alright because they're my world."

Firefighters also rescued several pets. More than a dozen residents were displaced by the blaze. Five units total were affected by the smoke and fire.

Damage is estimated at around $300,000.

A grassfire was reported a few blocks away several minutes before this fire was reported, but investigators are still trying to find out what sparked the apartment fire.