1 dead in smoky fire at 10-story Evansville tower

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Firefighters in Evansville used a ladder truck to help rescue some people from balconies during a smoky fire in a 10-story apartment building for the elderly and the disabled where one person died.

Fire officials say about a dozen people were taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries after the blaze Sunday evening that prompted a full evacuation of Grandview Tower.

Fire department spokesman Dan Grimm tells the Evansville Courier & Press that the fire was contained to one first-floor apartment but that others had smoke damage. Residents tell WFIE-TV that they encountered smoke inside on the fifth floor.

The tower’s some 180 residents were told they wouldn’t be allowed back inside until at least sometime Monday. The coroner says the resident who died was 66-year-old Gwendolyn Hunt.