Eight apartment units and 17 residents were safely evacuated after a fire broke out at an apartment complex in the 3300 block of East Rancier Avenue in Killeen around 1 a.m. Monday morning, according to city officials.
Investigators from the Killeen Fire Marshal‘s Office also responded to the scene. The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental and the area of origin was in a second-floor utility closet, according to a city news release.
Firefighters brought the fire under control within 25 minutes of arrival. Crews continued with salvage operations and extinguished hotspots for more than two hours. Seven of the apartment units at Century Plaza were occupied, one was vacant at the time of the incident, according to the release. Management at the apartment complex said they had no comment. A work crew was seen boarding up windows of the affected units Monday afternoon.
The release confirmed that the Bell County Communication Center received two 9-1-1 calls reporting the fire at 1:15 a.m. Following a general alarm, the first unit arrived on scene within five minutes of the initial dispatch reporting heavy fire conditions and fire already through the roof of the two-story, eight-unit apartment building.
Firefighters immediately initiated an aggressive fire attack while simultaneously evacuating occupants from the burning building and those adjacent to it, officials said in the release. The alarm was upgraded to include two additional engine companies and one chief officer due to heavy fire conditions and the number of occupied apartment units, the release said.
All occupants were safely evacuated without injury. There were no injuries to any firefighters operating on the scene.
Five engines, two ladder trucks, one rescue company, one ambulance, two battalion chiefs, two accountability captains, and one chief officer, for a total of 31 personnel, responded to the scene.
The Killeen Fire Department was assisted on the scene by the Killeen Police Department, the Killeen Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Building Department, Animal Services Unit, and utility companies: Oncor and Atmos.
All displaced residents will be assisted with alternative housing by on-site property management and the American Red Cross.
