At 4:53 pm, the Bismarck Fire Department responded to a residence at 1402 Spaulding Avenue for a report of a fire in a duplex.  Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke coming from both levels of the home, and flames showing through basement windows. Firefighters conducted a search of both levels of the home to verify information provided that nobody was inside the home. Other crews advanced hose lines to the basement to attack the fire. The fire was stopped before it extended beyond the room of origin, which was the kitchen, or onto the main floor of the house.

Residents had been home in both units of the home at the time of the incident. They both had reportedly been napping, and were alerted by smoke detectors. They were able to evacuate before the firefighters arrived on scene.

The occupants will be displaced from the home, and were referred to the Red Cross by the Bismarck Crisis Care Chaplaincy, to provide temporary housing assistance.

There was heavy damage to the room of origin, along with smoke damage throughout the rest of the home. Preliminary fire loss estimates are in excess of $25,000. The cause of the fire appears to have been related to unattended cooking.