MADISON, Wis. — Firefighters are crediting smoke alarms with catching a fire in an unoccupied apartment unit before it could spread throughout the building.
Crews responded to a four-unit apartment building in the 1200 block of Midvale Boulevard after getting a report from a neighbor that they smelled smoke and heard the smoke alarms sounding.
When firefighters arrived shortly before 4:30 p.m., they found black and gray smoke upon entering the building.
Firefighters then found a fire in a first-floor unit that was unoccupied. The fire was quickly extinguished, but it sustained significant fire, heat and smoke damage. Other units in the building were largely unaffected.
Investigators interviewed witnesses and the building owner, who said work had recently been done in the unit. The cause of the fire was ruled accidental. It may have been caused by an electrical fault or spontaneous combustion of painting materials, but neither could be identified as the definitive cause.
Damage is estimated at $30,000.
No one was injured, and nobody was displaced.
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