Just after midnight while conducting ground ladder training Truck Company 28 was dispatched for the Apartment Fire with people trapped on 68th Place in Landover Hills Co. 30. Truck 28 with 6 men arrived seconds after the first engine and found fire coming from the stairwell and roof of a 3 story garden apartment. They also encountered several civilian reports of people trapped on the rear upper floor balconies. The men quickly went to work throwing ladders to the front and rear and beginning the search for the trapped occupants as the first engine began the fire attack. While the Truck crew inside conducted primary searches of the apartments they came across the trapped occupants on the top floor rear balcony which was 4 stories high and assisted Company 33 with getting them onto the ground ladders. Meanwhile on the terrace level of Side C 2 West Lanham rookies heard screams for help coming from one of the apartments. Not hesitating they quickly went in and found a woman holding her baby and assisted her to safety to the rear of the building. Shortly thereafter while the men inside were finishing up their searches securing utilities and opening up a man from Truck 28 and Truck 9 went to the roof and began opening it up to expose the fire that had spread into the cockloft. After the fire was out the assignment was scaled back to 1 1 holding Truck 28 on scene for overhaul. The Truck operated on scene for almost 5 hours.
