PHOTOS: Woman rescued from burning apartment complex

Seven people were displaced after a cooking fire at a Cedar Rapids apartment complex, including a woman who had to be rescued from the burning building.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 4:27 a.m. at 640 16th Ave. SW. Fire Department spokesman Greg Buelow said fire damaged apartment No. 12 extensively, and smoke damaged three other apartments.

Smoke was rising from the back side of the 18-unit complex when crews arrived. Firefighters noticed a woman was trapped and standing at a window of a third-floor unit and assembled a ladder to rescue 23-year-old Brittany Harmon-Wright.

Investigators determined the fire started in apartment No. 12, where the occupants were heating grease on a stovetop and apparently fell asleep, Buelow said. Harmon-Wright, who lives in the apartment with Sean Patterson, 35, called 911 from a neighboring apartment, but became disoriented from the smoke.

Buelow said smoke alarms were not working in the apartment where the fire originated. He said it's not known if smoke alarms in the common hallway were functioning.

The occupants displaced from the three other apartments were: Takesha Rogers, 28; Tim Jacobson, 46; Shirley Jacobson, 48; Steve Huggins, 51; and Cate Huggins, 56. The Red Cross was providing assistance to them.

The Fire Department offers the following reminders:

- Test smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries at least once a year.

- Leave a burning building to call 911 from the outside.

- Don't leave cooking food unattended.

- To extinguish a grease fire effectively, place a lid over the pan to smother the flames.

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