East Hillside apartment building catches fire, damages multiple units

An East Hillside apartment building caught fire Saturday night, causing $80,000 worth of damage.

The Duluth Fire Department responded to nine-unit apartment building located on the 1100 block of East 3rd Street just after 10:30pm on the report of a fire in the exterior staircase of the building.

When they arrived, they saw smoke and flames coming from the first and second windows in the exterior stairwell and tenants evacuating the building.

Crews immediately began their attack on the fire. They also conducted primary and secondary searches of all units at which time they located a total of five cats in three different apartments.

Crews continued the fire attack on the rear exterior stairwell. Additional crews began overhauling the exterior stairwell and its ceiling. Overhauling continued until the fire was extinguished.

No injuries were reported, however multiple units experienced smoke damage from the fire and one tenant was displaced, due to water that came into their unit.

Damage is estimated to be $80,000 to the structure.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Duluth Fire Marshal’s Office.