2 firefighters injured in fire at apartment building

A fire broke out around 3 p.m. Monday at 3105 E. Stratum Way, the site of an apartment building within The Stratum at Indiana Housing Compounds, injuring two firefighters and affecting 10 apartment units.

Captain Tania Daffron of the Bloomington Fire Department said eight apartments were damaged in the fire, with two more severely destroyed.

The fire, which is believed to have begun on the top floor of the apartment block, burned a hole through the roof and charred surrounding walls.

“The firefighters didn’t want any unexpected surprises,” said Daffron, who said water and electricity had been shut off throughout the apartment complex during the course of the fire.

The BFD has confirmed that no residents were injured in the fire. However, a dog was rescued from one of the damaged apartments.

Two BFD firefighters were transported from the scene by ambulance to IU Health Hospital, where one suffered from heat exhaustion and the other, an ankle injury. Both were treated and released Monday night.

The ambulance service had also set up a firefighter rehab station at the scene — a common practice, Daffron said, but especially critical due to Monday’s heat.

In their thick suits, firefighters were instructed to make visits to the station, where they could rest and stay hydrated with water and energy drinks.

When officers from BPD arrived at the scene of the fire, they observed fire alarms, residents standing in the street and flames coming out of the building, BPD Lt. Bill
Parker said.

Resident and IU student Kevin Han, who lived in the building, said he first saw the fire on the balcony of his third-floor apartment. Han said he and his girlfriend were watching television in his apartment when the fire alarm went off.

He caught sight of the flames when he climbed onto a chair to turn off the alarm.

“I ran to the kitchen to fill a bucket with water, but the flames got too big,” Han said.

He said the smoke then started seeping in through the gaps under his doors and around the windows, and the two ran out of the apartment, Han armed only with his
cellphone.

His car keys were later salvaged by a BFD firefighter.

Inspectors are checking to see how badly the individual units have been damaged, but from the building’s facade it was clear that all three levels were affected.   

As of 5:30 p.m. Monday, all power in the building has been switched off and residents have been asked to find temporary, alternate housing.

Angelia Wengert, who lives in an apartment at The Woods at Latimer, a compound situated right behind The Stratum, said she was on the phone when she began to smell, and then saw, smoke and fire rising from the other side of the woods.

She said she walked to the apartment block to offer housing to displaced residents and to thank BFD firefighters.

“I feel very blessed for what they did today,” Wengert said. “They protected the whole community.”

The cause and extent of damage of the fire are still under investigation. Police do not have any involvement in the case unless fire investigators determine the fire was caused by criminal activity, Parker said.