First-arriving firefighters began to aggressively fight the fire from the ground and from aerial ladders. 

The fire occurred where many fourplexes and multi-family homes are closely located. In addition to the normal hazards present at a large fire, a lightning and thunderstorm raged in the background. The incident commander called a second alarm to bring additional resources to the scene.

Though firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, all units in the fourplex were destroyed. Eleven people have been displaced. The American Red Cross is assisting some of the affected residents. Though there are no known injuries, structural instability is preventing firefighters from safely searching. It’s expected the building will be stabilized and a search will occur in daylight.

It’s unclear where or how the fire started, but a fire investigator is on scene. The investigator will be conducting witness interviews and examining material evidence throughout the day. It’s unknown whether there were working smoke alarms in the buildings. They were not equipped with residential fire sprinkler systems.