CLEVELAND — The Red Cross is assisting over a dozen people including multiple children after a fire ripped through a Cleveland apartment complex Saturday morning, fire officials confirmed.
Cleveland Division of Fire spokesperson John Kearns shared new details via email on Sunday, confirming that a total of 16 people, including multiple children, were displaced and "transported in stable condition."
According to a Cleveland Division of Fire spokesperson, the fire started on the first floor of a three-story brick apartment overseen by the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. The occupant of the first-floor apartment evacuated the building. No serious injuries were reported.
Kearns said firefighters battled "heavy" fire conditions on the first floor and smoke conditions on the second and third floors.
Kearns said two adults and two children from the same family jumped from a second-story apartment to escape the flames. The family members were taken to a hospital for "minor smoke inhalation." The family also reported having two dogs, which crews later found.
Firefighters also assisted a family with eight children and two adults to escape an apartment on the building's third floor.
One girl aged around 6 or 7 was carried out of a third-story landing by firefighters. Firefighters then found nine more victims sheltered in the apartment's bedroom, Kearns said.
Firefighters removed the eight children and their mother by ladders as smoke began to consume the building's stairwell.
Kearns said one of the firefighters gave his face mask to one of the children amid the heavy smoke, followed by more firefighters doing the same.
"Firefighters were made nauseous by the smoke, but kept the mask on the children," Kearns said.
The father of the family was escorted down the stairs by firefighters.
In addition to the two dogs, two cats were found by "various crews," Kearns said.
The fire department's investigation unit is looking into the cause of the fire.