A family of three and their cat were displaced on Thursday night after an electrical fire ignited inside their Ocala apartment.
Ocala Fire Rescue units responded to Berkley Pointe Apartments (2869 NE 7th Street in Ocala) at around 9 p.m. on Thursday, February 6, in reference to a structure fire, according to OFR.
When firefighters arrived at the apartment complex, they saw heavy black smoke pouring from a first-floor unit. The occupants – an adult and two children – had evacuated their apartment prior to the arrival of OFR crews.
Members of OFR’s Engine 5 unit quickly entered the apartment and made their way through the living room, which was filled with smoke. They then made their way to a room near the back of the apartment, where they located the fire.
As Engine 5’s crew members combated the fire from inside the unit, additional units outside the building doused the flames with water through a window in the back room. OFR stated that this “dual approach” helped contain the fire to the room where it originated.
During an interior search of the apartment, firefighters located and rescued the family’s cat.
Once the flames were extinguished, firefighters checked the adjacent units and assisted with ventilating the building.
An investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was “electrical in nature,” according to OFR.
There were no injuries reported. However, OFR stated that an occupant from an unrelated apartment unit was taken to a local hospital due to an unspecified concern that was raised to paramedics.