Erie Firefighters Extinguish Apartment Fire in East Erie - WICU12/WSEE Erie, PA News, Sports, Weather and Events

Erie Firefighters Extinguish Apartment Fire in East Erie

A potentially disastrous situation was averted tonight, thanks to quick work by Erie firefighters.

Fire crews were called  to an apartment complex in the 1400 block of East 19th Street around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday.  They arrived at the scene to find heavy smoke and flame pouring from the first floor.

Were told, it broke out in the living room of the apartment.  It was contained to that area, causing extensive damage.

Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Carroll says that there was one woman home at the time of the blaze.  She was able to escape.  However, she received slight burns to her legs and suffered from minor smoke inhalation.  The woman refused treatment, and sought shelter at a neighbors house.

According to Carroll, despite the outcome, it could have been much worse.

"The potential was great here, with the number of units and the number of people in the units," said Carroll.  "But it was confined to the one unit at this time."

The six unit complex is owned by the Erie Housing Authority.  As of now, no word on a cause.