By Alex Tiegen
STUART — An attic fire in The Crossings at Indian Run Apartments left residents of at least eight units of the building temporarily displaced.
The fire, contained to the front upper level of the building at 3740 Southeast Gatehouse Circle, lasted about two hours and did about $80,000 in damage, said Troy Bowser, a lieutenant with Stuart Fire Rescue. No residents were injured but a rescue worker was hospitalized because of heat exhaustion.
The fire has been ruled suspicious and is under investigation, Bowser said. The fire appears to have started at the base of one of the building columns and went up to the attic, he said.
Rescue officials received a call about the fire and heavy smoke around 4:20 p.m., said Battalion Chief Wade Mallard of Martin County Fire Rescue, which responded to the call along with Stuart Fire Rescue and the American Red Cross Martin County Chapter. Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 6:30 p.m.
Firefighters cut holes into the front roof and stairwell to reach the flames and allow heat to escape from the building, Mallard said. None of the residents of the top floors of the two-story building were home at the time of the fire, Mallard said.
The fire was contained to the attics, but apartments were damaged by smoke and water.
Around 8 p.m., Bowser said residents of eight of the building’s units were required to find other lodgings for at least Saturday night. Others were allowed to stay the night.
Ben Bender, who manages disaster relief with the Red Cross, was on the scene to help residents find places to stay and locate other resources for them.
Power to the building was turned of and was still being restored as of 8 p.m.
Pauline Knight, who lives with her family in the building next door to the one that caught fire, sat in a wheelchair with her family as firefighters were battling the blaze. Knight, recovering from a fractured spine, said the fire was stressful for the older residents and was glad to have her family to help.
“Even though there’s property damage, we feel blessed that nobody got hurt,” she said.
