MISSOULA – Emergency crews responded to an apartment fire in Missoula on Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters were dispatched to an apartment on Trail Street for a report of a fire alarm and smoke coming from a first-floor apartment shortly after 2:45 p.m.
Crews arrived to find the fire was contained to the kitchen area and were able to extinguish it quickly.
However, Missoula Fire Department Battalion Chief Troy Ault says there was heavy smoke damage to the apartment.
Ault added Missoula police officers were able to evacuate an "immobile occupant” prior to the fire department's arrival on the scene.
The occupant’s three pets were also safely evacuated along with the occupant of the second-floor apartment.
While the fire's cause remains under investigation, Ault says it appears to have been accidental.
MFD is reminding people to never place combustibles on top of a stovetop even if it is believed to be off or has cooled down.
Missoula Police Department spokeswoman Whitney Bennett says a patrol sergeant and patrol officer were treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and released.
