Firefighters were dispatched to an apartment complex in northeast Ocala on Wednesday morning after a fire ignited inside one of the buildings.
Shortly after 3:05 a.m., Ocala Fire Rescue units consisting of Engines 1, 3, and 5, Tower 1, Rescue 1, Battalion Chief 22, and a Safety Officer rushed to Deer Run Apartments located at 2840 NE 4th Court.
According to OFR, Engine 3 was the first unit to arrive on scene. Crew members observed flames emitting from the rear of a center apartment unit located in a small single-story building.
The resident had safely vacated the unit and informed firefighters that oxygen bottles were inside.
Crew members from Engine 1, Rescue 1, and Tower 1 searched the adjacent apartment units for occupants while additional firefighters began combating the flames from outside the building.
OFR stated that as crew members from Engine 3 entered the central apartment unit, an oxygen bottle exploded. Crews quickly retreated and re-positioned themselves to attack the blaze.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames while keeping the fire contained to the “unit of origin.”
There were no injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, according to Ocala Fire Rescue.
The Ocala Police Department, Marion County Fire Rescue, and American Red Cross also responded to the apartment complex on Wednesday morning.