At approximately 1:15 PM on Tuesday, June 29, the Central Dakota Communications Center received a report of a fire at an apartment building on the 200 block of East Arbor Avenue. The Bismarck Fire Department was dispatched to respond. The first arriving fire crew arrived to find a three-story, 72-unit apartment building, with smoke showing from the West side of the building and residents evacuating.
The fire crew established command and identified a ground floor apartment that was fully involved with fire. The fire crew deployed a hose line to the exterior patio door of the fire apartment, and went in to fight the fire. As additional fire crews arrived they were given assignments by the Command. During the primary search, fire crews found two residents with limited mobility and assisted them out of the building. When the fire was extinguished an overhaul, operation was conducted to find any remaining smoldering materials, and the building was ventilated of smoke.
Seven fire department apparatus and 19 fire fighters were dispatched to the scene. The Bismarck Police Department assisted with scene control. Montana Dakota Utilities assisted with securing utilities. Bismarck Public Works assisted with scene control barriers. Crisis Care Chaplaincy and American Red Cross were on scene to provide support to the building occupants. A construction contractor assisted the first arriving fire crew by removing a section of patio fence, which gave them quick access to the fire apartment.
One occupant of the apartment on fire was home when the fire was started. The individual was transported to the hospital by Metro Area Ambulance and treated for burns and smoke inhalation. The occupants of the apartment involved in the fire, have been displaced by the fire damage. The occupants of the rest of the building were displaced for most of the afternoon as fire crews worked to ventilate the building of smoke and carbon monoxide. The cause of the fire is under investigation.