COLUMBUS, Ohio — A woman is dead after a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Whitehall Wednesday evening, confirmed Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Watts.
First responders were called to the 5300 block of Great Oak Way around 5:30 p.m. on a report of a fire.
Watts said firefighters found a woman in a second-floor bedroom. She was taken to Wexner Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead.
“The house is on fire, please send someone,” one of the residents told dispatchers.
Watts said firefighters were met in front of the apartment by one of the occupants who was pointing up at the second floor where her mother was trapped in a bed.
The Whitehall Division of Fire along with Truro Township Fire Department and the Columbus Division of Fire all responded to the scene.
“Found a kitchen fire, contained it, extinguished it. Crews searched upstairs and found the mother in the bed. She was in cardiac arrest so they took her from the bed and took her to the medic unit and transported her to OSU main,” Watts explained.
She did not survive her injuries.
“Our hearts break for the family. They were still there after the incident and we do everything we can to help them because we are a community,” Watts explained.
Watts said the firefighters did not find any working smoke detectors in the apartment.
“I think early notification, and there were a lot of people around when we got there, they could have potentially helped to get her out,” he said.
Watts explains this loss has hit his department hard as the firefighters knew the victim.
“The unique situation about this one was the victim was a common EMS patient for us. Our crews knew exactly where they were going, exactly where the layout of the apartment was and where she would be,” Watts said.
The family is getting help from the American Red Cross.