Woman Rescued from 'Fast-Moving' Apartment Fire In DeKalb

DECATUR, GA -- DeKalb County firefighters rescued a woman from an apartment complex early Monday morning, officials said. Fire units responding to the scene just after midnight found a 45-year-old woman disoriented from the smoke inhalation and unable to get out of her apartment, according to media reports.

The blaze happened at the Oak Tree Villa Apartments just off Memorial Drive in Decatur. Eighteen units were damaged in the blaze, displacing 35 people, according to reports. The Red Cross said that it was helping people with necessities such as food, clothing and finding somewhere for them to stay.

"A team of Red Cross disaster volunteers worked to assist more than 40 displaced by a large fire that impacted 24 units this morning at the Oak Tree Villas Apartment homes," Red Cross spokeswoman Divina Mims told Patch Monday.

"Red Cross is providing assistance with immediate emergency needs, such as food, clothing, lodging, replacement medications and other essentials. Red Cross caseworkers will continue to work with the families in the week ahead to help them get back on their feet and connect them with additional recovery resources available to them in the community."

Capt. Eric Jackson with DeKalb Fire & Rescue told WAGA that the woman is going to be OK.

"Thankfully, her condition is pretty good. They don't need to go to the hospital," she told TV cameras. "We did have a fast-moving fire that was jumping around ... there was no fire wall so the fire so able to move laterally both to the left and to the right."

Jackson said that they are still investigating the blaze, which started in a stairwell.

Image via Instagram / DeKalb Fire