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Nine people were rescued Friday from an apartment fire at 1600 E. Fort Wayne St., also known as Lincoln Apartments.
Three others escaped but suffered smoke inhalation, and one of them also suffered burns.
Daniel Duff was listed in serious condition as of 4:30 p.m. Friday at St. Joseph Regional Burn Center, Fort Wayne, where he was taken after he was transported to Kosciusko Community Hospital.
Two other residents, Jason Hedington and Jamie Kohn, were treated at KCH for their injuries.
According to information from the Warsaw Fire Department, the department was dispatched at approximately 10:40 a.m. Friday to the apartment building. Kosciusko County dispatch center advised the units en route to the fire of the possibility of trapped individuals on the third floor of the building.
Upon arrival, the fire department units, with assistance from Warsaw Police Department officers and Multi-Township EMS personnel, rescued nine people with the use of ground ladders and an aerial ladder.
Interior firefighters advanced a hose line to a third-floor apartment that had heavy smoke and fire in the living room. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to furniture in the room and it was extinguished and under control by 10:50 a.m.
Jason Hedington and Jamie Kohn, according to the WFD information, were asleep in the east bedroom of the apartment when they were awakened by smoke. Hedington reportedly looked down the hallway into the living area and discovered the fire. While escaping from the apartment, Hedington and Kohn informed Daniel Duff, another apartment resident, of the fire in the living room and that he also needed to evacuate the building.
During his exit, Duff suffered smoke inhalation and second- and third-degree burns. He became unconscious while he was in the kitchen. Upon regaining consciousness, according to the WFD information, Duff made it to the third-floor landing, where he was accompanied to safety by an unnamed apartment building occupant.
The American Red Cross provided clothing and housing to the third-floor occupants. The third-floor apartment was the only apartment affected by the fire.
Damage is estimated at $25,000.
The fire is believed to be accidental, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Winona Lake Fire Department was on stand-by at the scene with an engine and ladder truck. Off-duty Warsaw firefighters and off-duty WPD officers responded to the scene, providing rescue assistance and firefighting.
