PHOENIX -- At least five Phoenix police officers lacking protective fire equipment were injured as they pulled a 72-year-old man to safety and rescued other tenants in an apartment fire in central Phoenix.

A citizen flagged down officers Joanna Collier and Sara Dunivan shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday and alerted them to the fire at the Camelback Village Apartments at 5001 N. 11th Ave., police said.

The officers drove there and found flames coming from a second-floor apartment, according to police.

They had arrived before the Phoenix Fire Department, police said.

In spite of the danger involved, they immediately ran to the apartment and found the elderly man who had collapsed in the doorway, investigators said.

With the help of citizens, the officers were able to carry the man downstairs and to safety.

Other officers moved in and worked together to evacuate residents of the complex.

Bill Ellis lives just to the right of where the fire started. He said he jumped down from the second floor into the arms of three people.

"There so much smoke going past my apartment, I could barely see," he said.

The assisting officers were identified as Jason Price, Chris Olson and Veronica Lopez.

Each officer was transported to the hospital for smoke-related treatment, police said.

Collier was also treated for a minor burn she sustained while pulling the elderly man to safety.

Ricardo Eddy lives just to the left of where the fire started.

"I just ran out the door," Eddy said. "It was just engulfing everything."

At least a half-dozen apartments were damaged. The center apartment was destroyed. The other ones have smaller smoke and fire damage.

The Red Cross helped some of the displaced residents find places to stay for the night.

Fire investigators said they are trying to determine a cause for the blaze.

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