Two residents were rescued from their balcony during an apartment fire at the Woods at Greenland, 920 Greenland Drive, just after 7:00 Sunday night.
Murfreesboro Fire & Rescue Department’s Districts 1 and 8 arrived on scene and found heavy smoke exiting a third floor apartment of Building 2. The unit’s two residents made it outside onto the balcony and were unable to go back through the apartment to escape due to the heavy smoke.
Ladder 8 set up the aerial and guided the two down the ladder one by one with a Firefighter spotting them from below. The two were checked by Rutherford County EMS, but did not require medical care or transport.
According to Shift Commander Dale Maynard, when crews entered the unit, heavy flames were coming from the kitchen. The sprinkler head was already activated, but was not hitting the flames at the right angle. Crews had to pull a hose line from the engine company to put the fire out.
Fire damage was contained to the kitchen area; however, the rest of the unit did receive moderate smoke, heat, and water damage. The water damage, caused by the sprinkler system, also affected two units below, one on the second floor and one on the first. The two residents from the third floor unit are displaced, but will stay with family members this evening. The other residents displaced due to water damage are being assisted by the apartment complex.
The fire appears to be the result of unattended cooking.