Firefighters rescue people trapped in burning Shrewsbury apartment building

KSDK-- Investigators say a fire that displaced more than 20 people at a Shrewsbury apartment complex was sparked by a space heater.

The fire started just before 8:00 a.m. Sunday at the River Crest Apartments on Nottingham Avenue. Investigators believe a blanket too close to a space heater in a child's room sparked the fire. They say the child alerted his parents who tried to put the fire out before escaping.

Neighbor Travis Hall and his pregnant girlfriend were trapped with their kids in their second floor apartment.

"Eventually I started getting sheets, and tied them together. I tied all the sheets together and the police are telling me, "don't jump, don't jump", so I tied all my kids up to the sheets, lowered them down one by one. The police are grabbing them. Then after a while they brought a ladder for my kids' mother that's pregnant now," Hall said.

In all nearly 50 people were evacuated from the burning building and two others nearby. No one was hurt.

The Red Cross is assisting a total of eight families with food and clothing. The Red cross is also providing shelter for four of those families.