Fire Causes $250,000 in Damage to Apartments

A fire Tuesday caused $250,000 damage to a two-story apartment building near the Foothill Freeway in Pasadena, leaving several residents homeless. Firefighters were called to East Maple Street at Mar Vista Avenue shortly after 9 a.m. and extinguished the flames in about 20 minutes, said Pasadena Fire Department Dispatcher Cindy Cutler.

The American Red Cross was asked to find shelter for an undetermined number of residents displaced by the fire, said Fire Department dispatcher Don Wise. Flames had engulfed a ground-floor unit and were spreading to the second floor and attic when the first fire crews arrived, Wise said.

The blaze caused $200,000 in structural damage to eight apartments, as well as $50,000 in property loss to the contents. The cause was under investigation, Wise said.