| By Big Radio News Staff |

Firefighters say they carried 10 people to safety after they got trapped by a fire in the hallway of an upstairs apartment early Saturday in Edgerton.

Lakeside Fire-Rescue says a blaze that broke out from smoldering, discarded smoking materials woke residents at 503 Rollin St. when a fire alarm went off just before 6 a.m. Saturday.

Firefighters showed up to flames in a second floor hallway, with people upstairs trapped by the fire and ready to jump out the windows.

Fire crews tackled the blaze, while other firefighters and local police helped carry seven children through open windows and down ladders, getting them to safety.

In all, 10 people had been trapped upstairs. The children inside ranged in age from 1 to 12.

Lakeside Fire Chief Randy Pickering says working smoke alarms in the apartment probably saved people’s lives alongside the efforts of fire and police crews. The apartment has no sprinklers.

The apartment’s management is working now to repair the damage so people can move back in.