Two injured, several more displaced in two-alarm Fresno apartment fire

The Fresno Fire Department is cleaning up a two-alarm blaze sparked Wednesday afternoon that injured two people and left as many as 10 homeless.

Battalion Chief Todd Tuggle said firefighters responded to the Villa Madrid Apartments at 2476 E. Ashlan Ave. in central Fresno around 2 p.m. after multiple 911 calls reported explosions and flames. They immediately called for a second alarm when they realized the fire had spread from a backyard porch into two separate apartment units.

Tuggle said one occupant was taken to a local hospital for minor smoke inhalation injuries, and a second man was treated at the scene.

The fire significantly damaged two units and caused minor damage to two more through a shared attic space in the six-unit apartment building. Six to 10 people were displaced, and the American Red Cross was called to assist them.

Neighbors say they heard several loud pops, “as if someone was banging on my walls,” before they rushed out to find several units engulfed in flames.

Tuggle said that early reports indicated some kind of explosion, but there was no evidence of any major incident. The noises were likely outdoor containers popping in the flames — not anything like gas or propane igniting, he added.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Tuggle said investigators are treating the blaze as “suspicious” because of how it apparently started outdoors.

Tuggle said the hot temperatures forced the department to commit 12 of 20 firefighting vehicles to the apartment fire. Incidents like this put a considerable strain on Fresno’s firefighting resources, he said, because firefighters must be given frequent breaks to avoid heat injuries.

One lane of eastbound Ashlan Avenue near First Street was blocked for several hours while firefighters dealt with the apartment fire.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Two injured, several more displaced in two-alarm Fresno apartment fire."