Raw Footage of Ariel Rescue !
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Houston: Four-alarm fire burns high-rise apartments for elderly residents
12:19 PM CST on Monday, November 26, 2007
Raw aerials from the scene A four-alarm fire is burning at a southwest Houston high-rise building where elderly people live.
The Bellerive Apartments are located in the 7200 block of Bellerive at Stoneybrook.
Firefighters rescued people from the building using ladder trucks, and some residents were put into ambulances. Those who were rescued were taken to the Regency Square Apartments, which are across the street.
Houston Fire Department spokesman Rick Flanagan said three people were transported to Memorial Hermann Southwest Hospital with minor injuries. They are in stable condition.
Flanagan said the building is eight stories and that the fire possibly started on the seventh floor.
Flanagan said 80 to 95 firefighters are going door-to-door to make sure all of the residents are out safely.
The Bellerive Apartments are located behind Sharpstown Mall. According to the Harris County Housing Authority, the building is a complex for the elderly. It's Section 8 housing, which is subsidized.
Claudia Ortega, whose parents live in the building, said hundreds of elderly or retired people live in the buildings.
At one point, some firefighters could not be located, but they were quickly found inside the building.
There 250 rooms in the building, which was built in 1975.
Porfirio Villarreal, with the Houston Health Department, said Meals on Wheels delivers food to some of the residents on that building.