Quick thinking from a passerby helped save lives during a fire at a senior living apartment complex on Jacksonville’s northside.
The fire happened last week at the Morris Manor apartments. Four people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
“I just seen some smoke coming from the building and I was like maybe they’re having a Mother’s Day cookout, but wait a minute that smoke is a little too thick,” Marysa Jones said.
Jones said she was on her way to drop off her son but decided to park across the street and keep him out of harm’s way while she went to explore. Jones took a video of the fire before first responders arrived.
Then she jumped into action and ran into the building to see how she could help.
“Came back up and hit the hallway and saw two kids and ended up grabbing them out. By the time we got downstairs, she was yelling my grandma, grandma. So that bothered me as well,” Jones said.
Jones said she tried to go back upstairs but the smoke on the second floor of the building was too thick for her to handle.
That’s when she said she ran to the front office to let them know what the children told her.
Luckily, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department arrived on the scene shortly after and started helping get others out of the building.
According to JFRD, the fire caused 75 people to be evacuated from the second and third floors and three units received some type of damage.
Jones said she didn’t think of her safety at the time she just wanted to help others.
“I had to do something that maybe another person would not do, but I was going to do it,” Jones said.
Jones said she knows what she did could’ve had a bad outcome since she’s not trained as a first responder but she hopes others start being more helpful in the community.
“Let’s all go out there and give each other a hand even when we don’t need it sometimes people still do,” Jones said.
She said that way of thinking will make Jacksonville better.
News4Jax reached out to the apartment complex manager to see if the people in the damaged units were relocated to other units on the property or a different apartment complex but they did not immediately respond.