12-20-13 apartment fire

On December 20, 2013 at 1:43 AM the Fond du Lac Fire Department was dispatched to a reported apartment fire at 186 Morningside Drive.  Upon arrival, fire crews encountered smoke in a lower apartment of the structure.  A resident of the building had the whereabouts to use a fire extinguisher to knock the fire down.  The firefighters arrived to fully extinguish the fire, evacuate the residents and ventilate the structure.  The resident of the apartment was able to exit the building and was treated and released by the fire department paramedics.  Although the fire was unintentional, the cause of the fire was an unattended candle placed on an ottoman located near the couch.  Although the building fire alarm system was activated, the individual apartment smoke detector was not operational.   The Fond du Lac Fire Department will canvass the area tomorrow to talk to residents about having working smoke detectors.  They will assist with battery replacement and installation if necessary to assure the safety of our citizens.  Please see attachment on Candle Safety.  The Fond du Lac Police Department assisted with scene security and traffic control.