A late-night fire at an apartment complex in west Noblesville March 11 sent two residents to the hospital after the Noblesville Fire Dept. was dispatched at approximately 12:21 a.m. with reports of an person trapped inside.
The fire River’s Edge Apartments along River Road called three Noblesville Police Dept. officers to the scene at 1044 Watermead Dr. before the first fire units – Officer April Lantz, Officer Jordan Granger and Officer Corey McGriff.
Lantz and McGriff attempted to enter the corridor to the apartment but were unable to due to heavy smoke conditions. They were later able to break a front window to the apartment. The officers later stated they heard the occupant coughing inside the apartment and started yelling for him to follow their voices and lights. At that time, a male occupant was pulled through the front window to safety.
During this time, Granger went to the back of the apartment to alert other occupants of the building. He was then able to scale an adjoining second-story balcony, where he alerted the neighboring occupants of the fire and moved them to safety.
When first arriving, the Noblesville Fire Dept. reported heavy smoke and fire visible from the downstairs apartment. Firefighters made an aggressive interior attack on the fire, where it was quickly determined the fire had spread to a second story apartment. A second fire crew made an aggressive interior attack on the second-story apartment, and the two crews continued to work in unison, bringing the fire to control by 1:28 a.m.
The male occupant of the apartment was treated on-scene for smoke inhalation and transported to St.Vincent Fishers Hospital in good condition. A female victim from another apartment was treated on-scene and transported to Riverview Health in Noblesville in good condition. No other injuries were reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
