Mark Melvin/CBS Atlanta- Crews work to contain a large apartment fire early Wednesday.ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -
Atlanta firefighters lost precious time fighting an apartment fire Wednesday morning because of a dry fire hydrant.
The flames broke-out around 6:30 a.m. at the Majestic Part Apartments off of Delowe Drive in southwest Atlanta. No injuries were reported, but an estimated two-dozen people were displaced.
"When the first hydrant was dry, of course, that did provide a little bit of difficulty and amount of time we used to get water to the building," said Laura Alexander, an assistant public information officer with the Atlanta Fire Department. Alexander said she did not immediately know whose responsibility it was to maintain the hydrants.
Firefighters did not determine a cause right away, but one resident said she believed a space heater in her unit started the fire.
"It was really cold last night, so I plugged the heater up. I had just purchased it, and the whole wall (when I woke up) was just engulfed in flames," said Parthemia Minor.
When Minor couldn't find a fire extinguisher, she grabbed her daughter, 3, and proceeded to knock on her neighbors' doors. She said she had just moved into the apartments and lost everything. "All her Christmas toys, I.D., birth certificate, everything…"
The Red Cross is assisting victims.
Copyright 2012 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
