Apartment blaze near Fresno State damages 5 units. It could’ve been worse, official says

Quick action by a Fresno State police officer likely prevented disaster Thursday night when an apartment fire started.

The Fresno Fire Department received a call from police while on patrol at 11:45 p.m. and noticed a fire that started at Campus Chalet Apartments, located at Bulldog Lane and Millbrook Avenue.

Fire crews arrived on scene within four minutes because of the close proximity of the two fire stations and found a heavy fire that started on the second story with three units fully involved in the fire, Battalion Chief Sean Johnson said.

Crews were able to contain it to the three units and keep the fire from spreading across the entire building because the blaze had reached the roof.

“A lot of fortunate things came together,” Johnson said. “Both the university police on patrol noticed calling in early, the proximity to the fire stations and the quick response and the quick action of our crew contained it.”

Johnson said the apartment complex is 16 units.

At least five units were damaged by the fire, Johnson said.

The number of displaced residents was not known, but one resident told The Bee that he was sleeping when he got a frantic knock on the door that woke him, initially thinking it was somebody trying to break in.

No injuries were reported, Johnson said.

The Fresno Fire Department was working with the Red Cross to come up with a plan to see how many evacuees they have and “coming up with a plan for them to help find them shelter.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.