Thirteen people were displaced after a fire broke out at Cherry Park Apartments in Vancouver’s Bagley Downs neighborhood Friday evening.
The Vancouver Fire Department responded at 6:35 p.m. to a fire alarm at the apartment complex at 3200 N.E. 62nd Ave.
The first engine on site found the complex’s hallway filled with smoke, and water covered the floor.
The department — which responded with four engines, one truck and two battalion chiefs — deployed a hose line through the front door.
Firefighters received a report of an elderly woman still in her apartment, and they quickly began searching for her. She was soon found lying on her bed in the apartment where the fire had started. They quickly took her outside, where she was transported by an American Medical Response ambulance to the hospital. Her injuries were not life-threatening.
All of the other complex occupants, some of whom were aided by the department and others who got out by themselves, were safely evacuated from the building.
The complex’s sprinklers controlled the flames, and fire crews worked to remove smoke.
All 13 residents who were displaced by the fire were given temporary housing by the Vancouver Housing Authority until their apartments can be restored.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire department urges people to check the smoke detectors in their homes.
