Fire investigators said the situation grew into a complicated one because the complex has narrow parking lots that made it hard to maneuver and attack flames. The fact that it happened at a multi-unit building also made it easier for the fire to spread, they said. Embers hopped off the building and onto the dry grass below, igniting a backyard brush fire as well.
Experts later determined that the main body of the fire was in the attic, above the ceiling, which caused severe structural damage to the building. In all, about 50 people living in 36 apartments are displaced because of fire, water and/or smoke damage.
No one was injured. A cat, previously thought missing, was found safe about 2 hours after the fire began.
"Thank God I woke up and could get the dog and everybody that lives here outside," said Thomas Arsenault, who was inside the apartment that originally ignited. "This is one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me."
Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the fire.