Fire in Louisiana Apartments Kills 3

BATON ROUGE, La. --

A late-night fire spread quickly through parts of a large apartment complex, killing three people and prompting terrified residents to leap from second- and third-story windows, officials said Monday.

The blaze, reported about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, began in one building and spread to another in the Mirage Villa complex of multiple three-story brick and wood structures, city fire department spokesman Howard Ward said.

Firefighters remained on the scene Monday spraying water on the smoldering buildings and searching for a cause after it took nearly six hours to get flames under control.

Eleven people were injured, including some with serious burns, broken bones and sprains after jumping to escape the fire, which spewed thick, black smoke.

Taking shelter at a nearby high school, Tim and Monique Sanders said they and their 5-year-old son got out safely after knocking on second-floor doors to alert neighbors. They said some apartment doors were blocked by fire.

"One man ran out of the building with no clothes on. His body was burnt," Tim Sanders said. "He was burned bad. He wanted my help, but I couldn't do anything. His wife jumped from the third (floor) out the window. I don't see how she made it, but she was walking."

Early Monday, displaced residents lined a street, some huddled in blankets, as they awaited word on their burned homes.

Fifty-four apartments were affected by the fire, putting 150 to 200 people out of their homes, Ward said. About three dozen spent the night at the high school, where the American Red Cross set up a shelter.

The top floor of the building where the fire began was badly charred, and the fire had burned the roof away. Bricks from where a collapsed wall littered the ground nearby, and a child's toy floated in water that put out the blaze.

Overnight, the fire shut down the main highway running from downtown Baton Rouge to the neighboring parish, Ward said. The road was reopened by Monday morning.