Perryville apartment complex catches fire, cause accidental

Two buildings at Creek-wood Apartments, located at 1501 Alma Drive in Perryville, Missouri, caught fire Saturday night.

In addition to Perryville, fire departments from Chester, Illinois, and Biehle, Missouri, were called on for mutual aid. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental and the estimated cause of damage is $30,000.

Three Perryville police officers were first on the scene, according to Perryville assistant fire chief William Jones. "The first arriving police officers, the sergeant crawled into the apartment to do an initial search. He had to come out because the smoke was so heavy," Jones said. "He came out of the structure and got a big breath of fresh air and then went back in and found the victim unconscious. He managed to grab onto the victim and drag them into the doorway. The second officer crawled in and helped pull the victim out. The third officer, along with the first two, began resuscitation efforts."

The Perryvile Fire Department arrived at the blaze with two engines, a ladder truck and rescue truck containing a Breathing Air cascade system used by firefighters during rescues.

The officers were Garrett Schott, Jeremy Tenney and Stephanie Rumsey. Two police officers and one firefighter were treated at Perry County Hospital emergency room for smoke inhalation and were later released. The individual rescued by the police officers was transported by an air ambulance vehicle and treated at a St. Louis area burn center.