A Saturday evening blaze at City Walk Apartments on East Bryant Street damaged one of the buildings in the complex, but city firefighters were able to bring the conflagration under control before any residents were injured.
The fire reportedly began in Apartment 6, an upstairs unit.
Central dispatch received the call just before 8:30 p.m.
City police arrived on the scene first, making sure that the building was evacuated and all the residents were safe.
When firemen arrived, they discovered flames coming from the window of the second-floor apartment, as well as from the roof of the building.
The flames quickly spread to the adjoining unit while the fire department attempted to extinguish the attic of the building, a task made more difficult by additions to the roof that made access harder to obtain.
According to Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker, four of the eight units in the building were either damaged by fire or water, and the other four are badly smoked up.
“One apartment, where the fire started, is totally destroyed and the other is pretty extensively damaged with no ceiling or roof. There is also some water damage in a couple of apartments below on the first floor. There are eight apartments altogether in this building, four on each side. Four of them have been affected. The other four have not been damaged by fire or water but could have some smoke," Parker said.
The case of the fire has not yet been determined.
“We're still looking into it," said the chief.
There was a moment of excitement when the ceiling fell through while firefighters were inside the building, but no firemen were injured.