ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Before the sun came up Sunday morning, flames shot through the roof of a unit at the Retreat at Greenbriar Apartments in southwest Atlanta.

Smoke pushed into neighboring apartments just after 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Some tenants woke up to the smell and jumped into action — knocking on doors and helping others escape through the haze.

“I had to make sure. We all family in this one building right here, so I had to make sure we all straight,” said Raymond Gotel, a resident.

People anxiously watched firefighters work to put out the flames and waited to hear when they could return home.

“The apartments know each other, so everybody is trying to make sure everybody is ok for the most part, but we ok,” said Derrick Owens, who also lives in the building where the

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