Hammond firefighters battle apartment building blaze

HAMMOND | Firefighters in Hammond responded to a fire in a multiunit building Monday afternoon in the city's Robertsdale neighborhood.

Firefighters were battling the blaze as of 2 p.m. They had the fire under control by about 5:30 p.m. and were wrapping up the rescue, Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Margraf said.

Margraf said all residents of the building, 2041 Lake Ave., had been accounted for. One resident was transported to Franciscan St. Margaret Health hospital in Hammond for an anxiety attack.

Margraf called the building a total loss and said residents would not be allowed back in Monday. The building contains 10 units, but Margraf couldn't confirm how many residents lived there. The building's owner was working to contact tenants.

"It's going to be a tough rebuild if you ask me," Margraf said.

Becky Brock, 26, and her mother, Beth Krager, 52, live in separate apartments inside the building. Brock saw smoke billowing out of her chimney and ran downstairs to alert her mother to the fire.

"I ran down to tell my mom to wake up," Brock said.

Brock heard the fire possibly started in a dryer on the building's lower level. Both women said they didn't know where they were staying Monday night.

Margraf said crews would need to make sure the building was structurally safe, and not susceptible to collapse, before an investigation could take place.

"That's probably going to be a big issue for us right now," Margraf said.

Times staff writers Lauri Harvey Keagle and Chelsea Schneider Kirk contributed to this report.