NORFOLK, Va. — A firefighter was hurt while responding to a fire that officials said impacted a dozen apartment units in Norfolk early Sunday morning.
There was heavy fire coming from the Ingleside Square apartment complex near the corner of Scott Street and Seay Avenue when Norfolk Fire-Rescue arrived at around 4 a.m. Crews managed to bring the flames down shortly after 5 a.m.
Photos of the scene show thick smoke plumes and large flames shooting from the roof of the building.
Neighbors 13News Now spoke with said they smelled the smoke, and then saw the flames as they ran out of the complex to warn other neighbors.
"My daughter went door to door screaming at everyone to get out," said one woman. "She was yelling 'Get out there's a fire, get out' as loud as she could."
Fire spreads through Norfolk apartment complex
While no residents were reported injured after the fire, one firefighter was taken to a hospital. Witnesses said he was hurt running into the burning building to rescue a dog trapped on the second floor.
"I just kept saying please save my baby Blue, please save him," said the owner of Blue. "That firefighter got him, and then they put him on a stretcher and I hope he knows I have so much grace for him."
The firefighter has since been released from the hospital. The dog also survived.
"He's got some ulcers around his eyes and he's sad, but the vet said some fresh air and walks should help him," said Blue's owner Zy'asia Fulford.
Fulford said she tried to thank the firefighter after he rescued her 2-year-old dog, but paramedics quickly put him on a stretcher and took him to the hospital. She told 13News Now what she would like to say to him.
"He went in there and he saved my dog and he didn't have to! He didn't have to risk his life but I appreciate him so much for doing that and I have grace for him."
Glen Williams, Norfolk's Fire Battalion Chief, said dispatchers got a 911 call for help Sunday morning after a section of Ingleside Square Apartments went up in flames.
The investigation for what started the fire is still ongoing, but Williams said the fire moved quickly.
"They tried to fight the fire from the inside and it started spreading so quickly that they had to back out and they went to a defensive attack," said Williams.
Residents also told 13News Now that the complex's smoke detectors never went off. We reached out to the property's managers, but never received a response.
Fulford said while she is grateful for her life, and her dog's, she said she has no idea what will come next.
"There is so much hurt, and pain in all this, I've lost things I can never get back," said Fulford. "We have PTSD and I'm not sure where we go from here."
The Red Cross said it was helping the displaced residents. A spokesperson for Norfolk Fire-Rescue later confirmed at least 10 residents were out of their homes.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Fulford and Blue recover.