Madison firefighters responded to a reported fire early Thursday morning at Capitol Centre Court Apartments on West Dayton Street, climbing to the fifth floor of the high rise by instruction of the apartment’s occupants, according to a city of Madison press release.
No residents were injured, but one firefighter suffered minor injuries while helping to put the fire out. MFD Public Information Officer Bernadette Galvez said the firefighter is fine.
By the time fire crews reached the fifth floor, the hallway had filled with a moderate amount of smoke. They proceeded to a single apartment, which was filled with thick black smoke and minimal flames.
Galvez said the smoke was so opaque that they would not have been able to see their hands in front of their faces. The smoke had filled the apartment all the way to the ground.
Crews extinguished the fire within five minutes of arriving, but $70,000 worth of damage had been done. Individual apartments in the building are not equipped with sprinkler systems but hallways and main areas are.
Although most residents evacuated the building by the time firefighters arrived, crews had to inform some that the fire was real and to leave immediately, according to the press release.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
