BRATTLEBORO — A overheated electric power strip was blamed for an apartment house fire at 119 Green St. on April 5.
The two-and-half-story building, owned by Bob Remy-Powers, housed four apartments.
One apartment was gutted, while the other three suffered water damage, according to an incident report from the Brattleboro Fire Department.
Brattleboro Fire Chief Mike Bucossi said the fire was first reported at about 8 p.m., and a second alarm was sounded at 8:05. When crews arrived, flames could be seen shooting out the second floor window from the bedroom of Apartment No. 3, where the fire originated.
The fire was under control by 8:47 p.m., but firefighters stayed on the scene until about 11 p.m. No injuries were reported.
The fire was contained to that apartment, Bucossi said, and all occupants of the building got out safely.
It could have been worse. Bucossi said a post-fire investigation found that one of the occupants of the building removed a smoke detector.
Five trucks and 24 firefighters from Brattleboro led the initial effort. Putney assisted, along with crews from Keene, Chesterfield, and Hinsdale, N.H.
The Red Cross assisted the occupants of all four apartments with overnight housing until the building's electrical system could be checked.
It was the second major apartment house fire on Green Street since December. On Dec. 18, 2013, a three-alarm blaze gutted a five-unit apartment building on 72 Green St.