BOISE, Idaho —
Boise Fire Department (BFD) responded to an apartment complex fire at 1140 S. Colorado Avenue near Boise State University, Wednesday evening.
BFD said that two people were transported to the hospital with serious injuries and several more were treated on the scene of the incident. At least two of the people were rescued from a window by firefighters on a ladder.
According to BFD, firefighters rescued many pets in the building, but some did not survive the fire.
Several apartment units inside the building were burned in the fire or suffered smoke damage.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
BFD said that people displaced by the fire are receiving assistance from the Boise Fire Fighters Local 149 Burnout Fund, Red Cross, the Humane Society, and the Trauma Intervention Program of the Treasure Valley (TIP).
Resident Thomas Scaglione was inside his apartment when he heard people yelling outside, followed by a fire alarm. He says the complex often has false alarms so it took a couple minutes for him to realize how dire the situation was.
When he opened his door to go outside, a wall of smoke hit him.
"I tried to run down the stairs and got a quarter of the way down and just felt heat from the flames so I had to turn around and just kind of I was in panic mode," Scaglione told KTVB, "I ran to the window to yell, 'How do I get out of here? Where's the fire?' And I heard everyone yell, 'Go that way' so I had to just go back outside and run down the hallway, which was 30 yards long.
"I couldn't see anything. It was pitch black with smoke and as I was going down I felt people on the inside banging on their doors like, 'Help me to get out' and I couldn't say anything so I finally got to the fire door, threw it open. I knew the stairs were right there so I was hoping I didn't fall on the way down... I got outside and then you saw these huge pillars of smoke coming out from outside," Scaglione explained.
Scaglione commends firefighters for responding so quickly.
He didn't have time to grab anything and does not think he will be able to get back into his apartment until Thursday at the earliest. He believes his apartment has severe smoke damage and is unlivable at this time, so he is concerned about his belongings and his next steps.
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