(Milford)– A close call this (Wednesday) morning at a Milford apartment building.
Police and firefighters were called to the scene at 1022 Okoboji Avenue shortly before 6:00 a.m. after getting a report of the building being full of smoke.
Milford Police Chief Vernon Flack and officer Lansdowne of the Milford Police Department were the first to arrive. Flack says they went door-to-door evacuating residents. However, he says he wasn’t able to get a response when he knocked on the door to apartment number four. Flack says he entered the apartment and found smoke and flames. He found a man sleeping in a bed, woke him, and got him out of the apartment. Flack says he went back into the burning apartment with a fire extinguisher officer Lansdowne had obtained and put out the fire. At that point, Flack says the Milford Fire Department arrived on the scene and ventilated the structure. Residents were allowed to return later.
Flack and Milford Fire Chief Brian Craig say the cause of the fire was a lit cigarette that had been discarded into a wastebasket.
No injuries were reported.
Fire damage was contained to the one apartment.
While Chief Flack and officer Lansdowne are being credited for their heroics, Flack says it’s all a part of the line of duty. Flack, who’s a former Milford firefighter, says his training definitely paid off.
