2 firefighters, 1 resident injured in DC apartment building fire

WASHINGTON - Authorities said two firefighters and a resident were injured after a fire broke out at an apartment building in Southeast D.C.

The fire started at around 4 p.m. Wednesday in the 1700 block of Minnesota Avenue.

Fire officials said firefighter Danny Lovato suffered serious injuries from smoke inhalation. FOX 5's Paul Wagner reports that the firefighter took off his oxygen mask and gave it to a woman he was trying to rescue from the fire. He was taken MedStar Washington Hospital Center.

"Firefighter Lovato received some pretty good smoke inhalation," said Jason Woods of the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation. "He is expected to be okay. The doctors are hoping to have him out in the next four to five days. He is currently in the burn center/ICU."

Woods said the woman who the firefighter rescued is grateful for Lovato.

"She said she was seconds away from jumping out of the third-floor window and Danny saved her life," Woods told FOX 5. "She feels Danny is her hero and she wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for Danny."

The other injured firefighter was treated at the scene. The civilian was taken to the hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

When the fire began, D.C. Police Officer Charles Jones said he and three other resource officers were notified of the blaze and they went inside the building to evacuate residents.

"We were outside of our vehicles and we were flagged down by some concerned citizens who identified a building in the block that was on fire," said Jones. "At that point, we swiftly jumped in our vehicles and responded down to that location."

Jones said they knocked on residents' doors throughout the building before firefighters arrived on the scene to put the fire out.

"You see kids every day and our jobs are not just for kids, but it's for lives, and we are here for the citizens of the District of Columbia," he said.

Wilson said six people have been displaced from their homes. The American Red Cross are providing help to the displaced residents.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.