West Fargo, North Dakota – Law enforcement authorities reported that a residential apartment complex in West Fargo was evacuated due to an emergency call that fire services received early Wednesday morning.
The incident occurred in the vicinity of the 800 block on 36th Avenue E, with fire crews arriving shortly after 1 a.m. Upon their arrival, they discovered an instance of charred food in one apartment, the source of the pervading smoke.
Fire Chief Dan Fuller elaborated that as the firefighters attempted to expel smoke from the affected apartment unit, it found its way into the building’s hallway, subsequently activating the building-wide fire alarm system.
Even after successfully extinguishing the cooking-related fire, the fire crew spent an additional hour ensuring thorough ventilation of the premises.
Remarking on the incident, Chief Fuller noted that the principal cause of building fires in the country is related to cooking incidents.
“In West Fargo, we have made considerable strides in prevention measures and public awareness programs aimed at mitigating cooking fires,” said Fuller.
Despite these efforts, this incident marks the third time this year that the fire department has had to respond to cooking fires, with previous years having seen more than 20 such incidents.
Fortunately, the fire did not result in any injuries. However, the incident did cause a certain degree of smoke damage to the apartment building. As of now, no estimate of the damages has been provided.
