Tenants stop apartment fire from spreading

Fast thinking tenants of an east Carson City apartment complex used fire extinguishers to keep flames under control Tuesday until help could arrive, a battalion chief said Wednesday.

Firefighters were called to the complex at 1404 Edmonds Drive about 1:30 p.m. When they arrived, the exterior east end of the building from the ground to the second story was engulfed in flames and several tenants were shooting extinguishers at the blaze.

"They actually kept it under control until the fire department got there," said Battalion Chief Dan Shirey. "When we got there, we knocked it down."

Shirey said the damage was contained to the exterior and no one was displaced from their apartment.

He said the incident serves as a reminder to people about the value of fire extinguishers.

"Did it put out the fire? No. But did it prevent the fire from doing serious damage? You bet it did," Shirley said.

Shirey said the fire appeared to have started from a cigarette smoldering in bushes against the building. Though the bush was blocked from Tuesday's tempestuous winds, once the flames started, the winds quickly carried it, he said.