Desperate escape: One leaps, another hangs from window in Waverley West fire

Three people have been hospitalized and one other injured following a fire early Saturday morning in a Waverley West apartment complex.

The fire broke out just after 1:30 a.m. in a three-storey apartment building on Gaylene Place, trapping a few residents inside.

Flames were pouring from the building when crews arrived. One person jumped from a window before firefighters arrived. Crews used a ladder to rescue another person who was hanging from a window of the affected suite.

Residents from other suites within the complex were able to escape without injury. A Winnipeg Transit bus was brought in to shelter them.

Three people were taken to hospital, two in critical condition and another in stable. A fourth person was assessed at the scene but did not require a trip to the hospital.

Firefighters launched an interior fire attack, and the fire was declared under control at 2:11 a.m

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.