Man dead, firefighter injured in Sacramento County apartment complex fire, officials say
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
One man died, and a firefighter was injured Friday morning after a three-story apartment complex caught fire, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said.
Mark Nunez, a spokesperson for Metro Fire, said the fire started around 4:30 a.m. in the 3500 block of Watt Avenue, north of Whitney Avenue. Flames tore through the first floor and extended to the second- and third-floor balconies.
Three apartments were heavily damaged by flames, and 27 apartments were damaged by smoke.
While the cause of the fire is under investigation, Nunez said the fire appears to have started in an apartment unit on the first floor. That’s where crews found the deceased man.
A firefighter suffered minor injuries, and Nunez said that firefighter was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
There were people sheltered on the second and third floors as crews fought the fire, Nunez said.
This apartment fire was the third major fire the department has responded to this morning. Nunez said the first was at 1:30 a.m., a large grass fire by the American River, and another was a house fire in the Rio Linda area.
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