Large Apartment Fire in North Dakota Ignited by Smoking Materials

A big fire at an apartment building in Mandan, N.D., last week started accidentally with improperly discarded smoking materials, police said.

The determination was made after examination of physical evidence and interviews with building occupants and witnesses, Deputy Police Chief Lori Flaten said in a statement.

Residents in 31 units of the third-story apartment building were displaced by the fire. Flaten says it began on a third-floor balcony. It spread through the attic and consumed the building’s rooftop.

No one was injured in the fire.

Residents have been allowed back into the building to retrieve belongings on the first and second floors. The building management owner says it won’t be known for a while whether the building can be saved.

Related:

• Large Fire Causes Heavy Damage at North Dakota Apartment Complex