Fire breaks out overnight on the 14th floor of an Euclid apartment

EUCLID, Ohio - The Euclid Fire department battled a fire on the 14th floor of North Pointe Apartments early Monday morning.

According to Euclid Fire Captain Jay Womack, the fire started when the resident left food cooking on his stove and fell asleep, just after midnight. When fire crews arrived, they found fire shooting from the balcony of the 14th floor apartment.

The resident suffered second and third degree burns and was transported to a local hospital, according to Captain Womack.

“He was sitting next to a fire hydrant. He had soot all over his face. He had multiple burns all over his body,” Womack said.

The construction of the building helped contain the fire from spreading.

“These are masonry constructed each unit is like a bunker, the smoke can move to other units but the fire stays pretty contained to one unit,” Womack said.

He explained that it can be difficult fighting a fire on the 14th floor, “You get here and then getting your equipment up that many floors and by the time you get the people up there they are tired and that’s when the real work begins.”

Neighbors said they were told to leave the building for safety.

"The man across the hallway from us was banging on our door telling us there was a fire so I got up and ran down the steps and came back up to get my mom,” said neighbor Parker Parks.

About 50 residents in total evacuated to the parking lots but were let back in to their apartments around 1:30 a.m.

According to Womack, the fire caused extensive damage to the original unit and smoke damage to the unit directly above on the 15th floor.

The condition of the victim is unknown.