Two people were displaced following a Friday night apartment fire in central Tucson, officials said.
Shortly after 11 p.m., multiple people called 911 to report a tree and apartment on fire in the 5800 block of East 23rd Street, near South Wilmot Road, Capt. Andy Skaggs, a Tucson Fire Department spokesman, said in a news release.
The first crew arrived on the scene within minutes and saw a mesquite tree on fire with ashes dropping onto nearby single story apartments, Skaggs said.
While firefighters were battling the tree fire, a second crew discovered fires in the nearby apartments, located to the west of the tree, Skaggs said.
Six apartments were evacuated and a ladder crew cut holes in the roofs of several, to allow smoke and hot gasses to escape, Skaggs said.
Thirteen units and 29 firefighters brought the fire under control within 30 minutes of arriving on scene. Four apartments were affected by the fire, two of which were vacant.
The two residents from the other two apartments will be staying with family and friends for a day or two, when they'll be able to return home, Skaggs said.
Fire investigators are looking into the cause and origin of the blaze.
