INDIANAPOLIS — A 74-year-old man is in extreme critical condition after being rescued from an apartment fire on the west side Thursday afternoon.
Firefighters responded to the apartment on North Traub Street around 3:30 p.m. to find heavy fire and smoke showing from both floors of the building.
About 10 minutes after they arrived, firefighters rescued the male victim from an upstairs unit. He was taken to Eskenazi Health in extreme critical condition.
Firefighters were also able to revive an adult female cat, which was taken to the vet in critical condition. An adult male cat and two kittens were also in the home and are said to be OK. Three kittens died in the fire.
Firefighters said 16 people were displaced by the fire, which started in a downstairs apartment where squatters were reportedly living. There were 10 people inside the apartment who were identified as possible squatters.
The fire department is working with the Red Cross to find shelter for the six residents of the apartment.
There were no working smoke alarms in the building, according to IFD. Firefighters marked the fire under control about 25 minutes after they arrived on scene.
