Kitchen Fire at Downtown Eugene Apartment Complex Contained, No Injuries

Eight Eugene Springfield Fire crews containing a kitchen fire at WestTown on 8th Apartments in under four minutes Sunday evening kept what could have been a serious building-wide emergency to a single unit, with no injuries reported.

ESF was dispatched at 6:39 p.m. on March 15 to the 200 block of West 8th Avenue after a resident called to report a kitchen fire with smoke filling the unit. Crews from the downtown fire station arrived in less than four minutes as part of a high life-hazard response that included five engines and three ladder trucks, along with two battalion chiefs, two ambulances, two deputy fire marshals and a support unit.

Firefighters quickly located the fire and advanced a hose line through a stairwell to reach the unit. While a ladder truck company searched the affected apartment, crews evacuated residents from neighboring units. ESF said firefighters then conducted extensive overhaul operations to ensure all hot spots were eliminated before clearing the scene.

The fire was contained to the apartment where it started, though smoke affected up to five other units in the building. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Fire Marshal's Office.