Man jumps from balcony as Tuesday morning fire at Willow Run Apartments displaces 7 people

File photo.

An apartment fire Tuesday morning at the Willow Run Apartments caused a man to jump from a balcony. The two-story fire that looks to be accidental displaced seven people, according to Mobile Fire-Rescue.

The fire was reported around 8:53 a.m. at the complex at 2320 Dauphin Island Parkway. When firefighters arrived they saw heavy smoke and fire coming from the two-story apartment, causing a second fire alarm to be issued.

According to Mobile Fire-Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman, the fire started in a first floor apartment and spread upward to the second level and through the roof of the structure.

A 62-year-old man living in a second floor apartment received non-life threatening injuries when he jumped from a second floor balcony.

Huffman said the person living in the apartment where the fire originated escaped without apparent injury and ran upstairs and knocked on his neighbor's apartment yelling that the building was on fire.  The occupant of the upstairs apartment, the 62-year-old man, saw smoke and jumped to safety.

The cause of the fire appears to be accidental although the exact cause is not yet determined, according to Huffman. The fire caused extensive damage to the structure and no other injuries were reported.

The displaced occupants are being assisted by the American Red Cross, and Huffman said the Salvation Army was on scene and assisted firefighters with refreshments.