Apartment fire displaces 7; Cause still being sought

Published 10:27 am Thursday, April 6, 2017

An Austin apartment fire on Wednesday displaced seven occupants in the building located at 505 Fifth Ave. NW, said Austin Fire Chief Jim McCoy.

All occupants were able to escape the building without injury, he said. All are being served by the American Red Cross.

Those living in three of the building’s four apartments should be able to return to the building once the smoke smell has been abated, McCoy said.

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The remaining apartment, the scene of the fire, “was a total loss,” he said. The east, ground-level unit had one occupant.

No cause has been found. A state fire marshal investigation was still being conducted on Thursday.

McCoy said the fire call came at 1:20 p.m. and firefighters found smoke coming from the building. Inside, they found the apartment “fully involved,” he said.

He said 22 firefighters fought the blaze. The department cleared the scene about 5 p.m.

McCoy said there was no damage estimate at this time.

Firefighters breach a door to ventilate.

Firefighters breach a door to ventilate.