Five displaced in apartment fire in central Vancouver

A two-alarm apartment fire Friday morning in central Vancouver displaced two adults and three children.

Vancouver Fire Department crews were called shortly before 11 a.m. to a report of a commercial structure fire at 3901 E. 18th St., in the Maplewood neighborhood.

Responding crews saw a column of smoke about a mile away, and upon arrival, found smoke and fire coming from several windows of a two-story apartment building, according to a news release from the fire department. A second alarm was requested, bringing nearly 30 firefighters to the scene.

Firefighters searched the first and second floors of the building. The first floor was vacant, and all of the residents on the second floor had safely evacuated, the fire department said.

Crews initially attacked the fire from outside before entering the apartment with their hose lines. The fire was extinguished within 10 minutes, according to the fire department. No one was injured.

The Red Cross is assisting the residents who were displaced.

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.