TOLEDO, Ohio — Two people died early Wednesday morning after a north Toledo apartment building caught fire.
Hours after the overnight fire tore through the North Toledo home, WTOL 11 found neighbors there to comfort each other on the front lawn, hugging each other and crying.
While most of them were asleep when the fire started around 3:29 am, the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department sirens and the smell of smoke woke them up to a chaotic scene.
"We all were standing outside here just trying to figure out what happened, they were battling the fire, you could still tell they were battling it because of the flames and smoke coming out," neighbor Arriel Henderson said.
TFRD responded to the 911 call at 3:29 a.m. and braved heavy flames and excessive heat to make their way inside, only to find they were too late.
Toledo Fire's Public Information Officer Pvt. Sterling Rahe said the responding firefighters found two women deceased in the home.
The pair are now the sixth and seventh fire fatalities in Toledo this year.
While the neighbors said they didn't know any of the victims inside, they're still struggling to process the loss of life.
"I would not wish that type of death on anybody, I can't believe it happened," Henderson said.
TFRD says there was one survivor at the scene who jumped out of a window to avoid facing the flames.
"He did cut himself somewhere along the way, and there was a lot of blood trailed through that area as he tried to escape," Rahe said.
The survivor is currently being treated at a local hospital, according to TFRD.
TFRD representatives said the loss of life and injury could have been avoided. The fire captain on scene said there were no signs of smoke detectors in the building.
Rahe said the TFRD offers free smoke detectors at fire stations throughout the city to anyone who needs one.
"We want anyone who needs a smoke alarm to have a smoke alarm, I don't get tired of talking about them because I know how impactful they are," Rahe said.
TFRD is also going door-to-door in the Mott Avenue and Washington Street area Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m., to offer smoke detectors to residents. They will go to the North Superior Street area shortly after.