SPOKANE, Wash. — Firefighters battled an apartment fire Tuesday afternoon in Northeast Spokane that left eight residents without a home.
At 12:19 p.m., the Spokane Fire Department responded to reports of an apartment fire near the intersection of East Francis Avenue and North Regal Street.
Firefighters from the Hillyard and Bemiss neighborhoods arrived to find flames on a second-floor balcony of a fourplex, with fire extending into the shared attic space.
Crews quickly knocked down the flames on the balcony but had to ventilate the roof and remove ceilings in the upper units to fully extinguish the fire.
The fire was controlled within 15 minutes, and no injuries were reported.
According to Spokane County Fire District 9, all four units sustained significant smoke and water damage, making them uninhabitable. The American Red Cross is assisting the six adults and two children displaced by the fire.
Investigators determined the fire was caused by a cigarette improperly discarded into a plastic container on the patio. Breezy conditions contributed to the ignition, allowing the fire to spread to the exterior wall and into the attic through a vent.
The Spokane Fire Department reminds residents that cigarettes should always be disposed of in metal containers with lids, approved fire-rated receptacles, or thoroughly soaked in water before being placed in the trash.
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