Fire investigators are trying to determine what sparked the two-alarm blaze that damaged multiple units and displaced residents at the Walnut Manor apartment complex on Tuesday.
About 10:30 p.m., a police officer on routine patrol through the Walnut Villas complex noticed the fire at the neighboring East Walnut Road complex and alerted dispatchers to summon fire and emergency medical services. Officers then banged on doors to evacuate the Walnut Manor residents in Building 9.
Everyone was accounted for and no injuries reported, Fire Chief Lou Tramontana told The Daily Journal at the scene.
The fire’s intensity melted a portion of the building’s siding and flashing.
Maria Navarro, a Walnut Manor resident for more than a decade, said she heard a fire alarm and then spotted a fire at the back of an apartment down several units from her own.