Fire in Woodbridge forces 45 from homes

One woman grabbed her child and jumped out of her window as a fire ripped through her Woodbridge apartment building Friday night.

The blaze broke out at 14400 Gemstone Drive just after 7 p.m., leaving about 45 people homeless.

The fire stared in an apartment on the ground floor of the four-story complex.

Gisele Lopez was home with her son when she noticed smoke filling her home. She said she didn't have much time to think, and she picked up her 2-year-old son, Carlos, and jumped out of the apartment window.

"I was just about to leave my house when I saw the fire," said Lopez.

She and her son were not injured.

Donna Granados lived next door to where the apartment building that caught fire and went to investigate. She found a family on their balcony.

The father needed help with his two children, who were "maybe 2- and 3-years-old," before he and his wife could save themselves, Granados said.

"He threw me his kids through the second floor balcony [rail]," Granados said. "It wasn't a big drop."

Granados caught one child in each arm and carried them from danger, and then their mother and father leapt to safety.

"They jumped off of the balcony, and we all met out front here," Granados said Friday eve-ning as firefighters wrapped up after putting out the fire.

Granados said the fire department's response to the fire was "quick."

"They did very well," Granados said.

In the end no one was injured, but the fire did leave many on the front lawn of the complex visibly shaken.

Fire investigators believe the fire started in an elderly woman's apartment on the ground floor and quickly spread to seven other units.

When the blaze was extinguished, the woman had yet to find her dog, who was with her at home at the time of the fire.

"There is very heavy fire debris in the apartment, so right now it is too early to tell if the dog became trapped inside," said OWL Volunteer Fire and Rescue spokesman Jim McAllister.

In all, five people had to be rescued from the burning building. No one was taken to the hospital.

The apartment building was closed due to the heavy fire damage and subsequent electrical problems, said McAllister.

The Red Cross was called in to help at least 45 people find shelter following the blaze.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065. Manassas Bureau Chief Keith Walker can be reached at 703-369-6751.