(Spirit Lake)– An early morning fire forced residents out of a Spirit Lake apartment house.
Spirit Lake Fire Chief David Kollasch says firefighters were called to 412 18th Street around 5:00 a.m. Upon arriving Kollasch says flames could be seen in an upstairs window.
Kollasch says the occupants in the building got out unharmed. A dog and two cats were safely retrieved by firefighters.
Kollasch says the fire was contained to an apartment on the upper level of the building, but he says the fire managed to spread into the attic. Kollasch says firefighters had to cut a hole through the roof to get at it and ventilate it.
He says there was very little or no damage at all to units on the lower level.
Kollasch says a representative of the State Fire Marshall’s Office determined the fire was the result of a stove burner that had been accidentally left on.
Firefighters were on the scene a little more than five hours.
