Apartment manager puts out fire

Medford, Ore. — Working smoke alarms, the availability of fire extinguishers, and a quick-acting manager are what saved an entire apartment complex from going up in flames.

According to the Manager at North Riverside Apartments in Medford, a cigarette butt next to an oxygen tank sparked a fire Saturday morning around 9:30.

The manager says he heard a loud “boom” and the smoke alarms going off in the apartment above him.

That’s when he quickly entered the smoky apartment, to put the fire out.

“I had to crawl on my hands and knees all the way down around the mattress to the base of the flames, and I did the first fire extinguisher, and then I exited the premises and did that five more times,” apartment manager William Nelms said.

Medford Fire-Rescue arrived at the scene within minutes and helped to remove smoky items.

Two people – including the manager – were sent to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Red cross is providing emergency assistance to the victims until it is possible to return to their apartment.

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