Arkansas City firefighters quickly extinguish apartment fire

ARKANSAS CITY — Firefighters responded to a structure fire at a West Jackson Avenue apartment complex Sunday afternoon, quickly bringing the blaze under control, according to the Arkansas City Fire/EMS Department.

The department was dispatched at 1:05 p.m. Jan. 5 to the 300 block of West Jackson Avenue, the department said in a news release.

Fire crews arrived to find dark smoke coming from a first-floor studio apartment in the two-story, wood-frame building. The apartment's sole occupant, a female resident, was able to escape the structure prior to firefighters' arrival and was uninjured.

Firefighters made entry and brought the fire under control quickly.

During a search of the second-floor apartment, which sustained smoke damage, crews located and removed the occupant's pet cat. The animal appeared to be unharmed.

The fire was determined to have originated from a lit candle in the first-floor apartment. A damage estimate is not yet available, according to the release.

No additional injuries were reported.