Two displaced after Harney Heights apartment fire

Two people were displaced after a fire at an apartment complex in Vancouver’s Harney Heights neighborhood early Wednesday morning.

Crews with the Vancouver Fire Department were called to an apartment complex at 3202 E. Mill Plain Blvd. at about 1:30 a.m.

Arriving crews discovered an exterior fire that originated on the balcony patio of a second-story unit, firefighter-paramedic Raymond Egan said.

One engine couldn’t navigate the narrow, steep driveway so stayed on Mill Plain Boulevard, though other fire vehicles got closer to the complex and firefighters pulled a line inside and controlled the blaze in about 10 minutes, Egan said.

Firefighters then pulled walls and ceiling to get out the hot spots, exposing the residents to the cold and displacing them, Egan said. They are staying with family or friends, he added.

Fire investigators say the blaze was accidental, caused by cigarettes discarded in a trash bag on the balcony, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli said. It caused an estimated $40,000 in damage.

She said these types of fires are preventable and put everyone at the complex at risk. Scarpelli advised that cigarettes should always be put out in noncombustible containers.