One dead, 15 displaced after central Fresno apartment fire

One man died and 15 residents were left without homes after an apartment fire near North First Street and East Weldon Avenue in central Fresno just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. Fresno Fire Department crews responded after neighbors saw the flames and tried to fight the fire from outside with a fire extinguisher and water hoses.

Firefighters found heavy flames in a bedroom inside the apartment. The victim was described as an elderly man who was reportedly confined to a bed, and he died in the fire.

The Fresno Fire Department said 15 residents were displaced and left without homes. For those residents, the fire turned a central Fresno apartment building into an immediate housing emergency, with families suddenly needing a place to sleep and the basics that were inside the building when the fire broke out.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Fire officials had not said what sparked the blaze or whether any building safety issue contributed to the death. The apartment fire added another deadly scene to a neighborhood where neighbors were close enough to see the flames and try to help before crews arrived, but not close enough to stop the fire from taking a life.