For the first time in two years, Bloomington firefighters have had to rescue people from flames and smoke.
Flames broke out in the kitchen of an apartment in a building on West Graham Street Wednesday afternoon.
Department Spokesman Stuart Blade says they found a mom and two children an upstairs bedroom when firefighters broke in past dense smoke in the hallway.
"When they made their way up the stairs they had no visibility. And so when they made a right hand search there was a locked apartment door. There was another closed door going to the bedroom. The family was inside that bedroom. The option going down the stairs was not available to them, so the crew called for a ladder," said Blade.
Blade said they went out the window and over a porch roof to the ladder and being surprised by the firefighters.
"No they were not actually aware. It was kind of a shock when the firefighters came bursting in. They had a working smoke alarm inside the bedroom, but there was not a working smoke alarm that we could find outside the bedroom," said Blade.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Damage is estimated at more than 15,000 dollars.
The Red Cross is helping find housing for ten adults and the two children among five families.
