Two men working near a Long Beach apartment this morning rescued a woman who was dangling from a second-floor window after she fled a fire that broke out at her apartment.
The dramatic scene unfolded shortly before 9:25 a.m. at a two-story apartment building on Atlantic Avenue near East 31st Street, which is just south of the 405 Freeway, said Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Brian Fisk.
When firefighters arrived, they found a second-floor unit with “heavy fire and smoke” coming from it, Fisk said.
A woman in her 30s told firefighters that she had broken a window to escape the apartment, but was dangling from the second floor when the two men spotted her and moved underneath to catch her, Fisk said.
She escaped with a minor finger injury and refused treatment at the scene, Fisk said.
The workers left the scene before units arrived, but the Fire Department is hoping to identify them “for a potential meritorious award,” Fisk said.
Anyone who spotted the workers or has information on their whereabouts was urged to contact Fisk at [email protected].
Firefighters knocked down the flames and kept the blaze from spreading beyond the one apartment unit, he said.
The American Red Cross was called to the scene to provide temporary lodging for three residents who were displaced by the fire.
Investigators were working to determine the cause of the fire.