Published on: Friday, October 12, 2012

By Jim Davis

Prince George’s County firefighters rescued a baby and two women from their balconies Friday morning after a fire erupted at a New Carrollton apartment building.

Just before 9 a.m., firefighters were called to the 5300 block of 85th Avenue for a reported apartment building on fire with people trapped.

Heavy smoke was pouring out of a terrace level unit and several people were calling for help from their balconies when firefighters arrived, according to Mark Brady, chief spokesman for Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department.

The residents were trapped, according to fire officials, because the apartment building’s stairwells were filled with smoke and high heat.

As one team of firefighters entered the building to make an aggressive attack on the fire, a second team of firefighters used ground ladders to rescue the two women and a 4-month-old baby boy from their balconies, Brady said.

The two women and the infant were evaluated by paramedics on the scene, and they did not require hospitalization.

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within 20 minutes and no injuries have been reported, according to Brady.

The fire, according to fire officials, likely started in a terrace level apartment bedroom, but the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

Preliminary fire loss is estimated at about $20,000.