March 28, 2012

8:03 PM

At 5:40 pm, an attendant working at a local Astro gas station on North Greeley Avenue smelled smoke and saw flames coming from a four-plex behind the facility. The attendant reacted quickly, broke open the front door of the apartment and attempted to alert potential occupants.

The attendant observed a large amount of fire in the unit. He closed the front door and called 9-1-1.

Engine and truck crews from Station 8 (Kenton) arrived within four minutes of the 9-1-1 call and quickly searched the apartment for occupants and extinguished the fire. Unfortunately, when firefighters searched the apartment they found a cat and a snake that both had died in the fire.

The fire was recalled about 15 minutes later. Lieutenant David Keller stated that closing the door of the apartment slowed the spread of the fire and contained the fire to only one unit.

Fire investigators were called to the scene and determined that the cause of the fire was due to combustibles placed too close to a heating source. Damages to the apartment are estimated at $35,000 dollars.