An early morning fire displaced residents from five apartments in a complex on Hawthorne Street in Alexandria.
According to Alexandria Fire Chief Jeff Karrow, the Alexandria Fire Department was paged out at 4:32 a.m. Monday, June 14, for an attic fire at a residence at 901 Hawthorne Street.
The building houses five apartments and all residents were evacuated. However, Karrow said firefighters searched for one resident, who they later learned was not home at the time of the fire.
The origin of the fire was in a living room attic in one of the apartments and the cause is believed to be an electrical junction box, said Karrow. Arson was ruled out, he added.
The other apartments within the building were either damaged by smoke or water, he said.
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A resident reportedly noticed a haze, smelled smoke and after looking around, saw the flames and according to Karrow, “shot off a fire extinguisher.”
The fire department was on scene for about two hours, said Karrow. No injuries were reported to the residents or the firefighters.
The American Red Cross was called and has made connections with all the tenants, said the fire chief.
The Alexandria Police Department and North Memorial Ambulance were also on scene.
