Baby, 7 others rescued from central Fresno apartment fire

A baby and seven adults were rescued from a fire in a central Fresno apartment near Linden and Hedges avenues, according to the Fresno Fire Department.

A fire broke out around 4:45 a.m. Saturday, and one man escaped on his own, then tried alerting his neighbors, said public information officer Pete Martinez of the Fresno Fire Department. When firefighters arrived, they rescued the remaining seven people and the infant inside of the building, Martinez said.

The flames caused significant damage and one stairwell sustained heavy smoke damage, said Martinez.

The fire was upgraded to a two-alarm blaze because of the rescue, said Martinez.

“The homeowner said a homeless man may have slipped into the building and started a fire, but nothing has been confirmed yet,” Martinez said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Sunday.

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Baby, 7 others rescued from central Fresno apartment fire."