Officers Rescue 2 Kids From Burning Savannah Building During 2-Alarm Blaze

SAVANNAH, GA — Five people, including two children, were rescued from a two-alarm fire Sunday at a Savannah apartment building.

The blaze sparked around 4 a.m. in the 1000 block of King George Boulevard at an apartment complex. Chatham County Police said officers Thomas Velte and Brandon Lowe were first on the scene.

They ran toward the building, where they found both the upper floors consumed with fire and a mother with her two children on the third floor, police said.

The mother signaled for the officers to catch the children before dropping them from a window to the officers, who safely caught them, police said.

During this time, the Chatham County Fire Department arrived on scene two minutes after getting the call.

After crews used ladders to tend to a portion of the building heavily involved in flames, fire officials said Capt. John-William Farrell and Firefighter Christopher Carter rescued three more people.

Shortly after 4:45 a.m., the building partially collapsed, and the fire was brought under control around 5:45 a.m., fire officials said. All residents were accounted for without injury, they added.

The two children who were rescued from the window were taken to Memorial University Medical Center after suffering smoke inhalation, police and fire officials said.

Twenty-two of the 24 apartments were involved in the fire, officials said.

The American Red Cross assisted with the displaced residents. The Georgia Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the fire.