People forced to jump from balconies to escape Mt. Airy fire

MT. AIRY, Ohio (WKRC) - Five people were taken to the hospital after a fire Monday morning in Mt. Airy. Firefighters say the building had smoke detectors, but they were not working. Crews were called to the Towerview apartments off North Bend Road about 3:30 a.m. Witnesses say people were jumping off of second and third-floor balconies as flames could be seen coming out of apartments. “One girl, she jumped from her balcony to another balcony,” said resident Jabbara Pates. "People are hysterical, they're talking about how they lost their stuff and everybody outside just making sure they're okay.” Fire crews found people lying on the ground. They had to rescue one person from the third-floor balcony with a ladder. Five people were taken to the hospital. There is no word on the extent of their injuries but they're all expected to survive. “She was like help me, help me and my dog and everybody was jumping out they apartment and everything,” said Joseph Stanford. Stanford lives across the parking lot in a different building. He says a guy he knows lost everything. “He was like God, everybody’s ok,” said Stanford. The Red Cross says 24 people have displaced resulting in 11 families needed a new place to stay. At the moment the Red Cross is assisting those who need help. A Metro bus was called in to help people stay warm. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It did $200,000 in damage to the building. Fire officials say smoke detectors were present but not working.