Update: Dixon Fire Crews Battle Senior Apartment Fire

7:54 p.m. - T is back to the fire department after knocking out a small apartment fire at the at 211 East D Street.

Fire Capt. John Malone said the sprinkler system had extinguished most of the flames by the time the firefighters arrived on scene.

"In this case the sprinkler system did exactly what it was supposed to," Malone said. "It’s a high-risk area for us and it kept the damages down to the minimum and it potentially saved lives."

Malone said the unconfirmed cause of the fire was "smoking materials." Flames caused approximately $10,000 worth of damage to the structure.

The apartment residents were not home at the time of the fire Malone said. The apartment management is putting them up in a local hotel while repairs to the apartment are arranged.

6:52 p.m. - The is on the scene of a structure fire at the complex at 211 East D St.

The fire began in a downstairs unit of the complex Dixon Fire Chief Aaron McAlister said.

“For whatever reason the fire started inside of the apartment when it was unoccupied and it grew to the point where it popped a sprinkler head,” McAlister said.

The sprinkler, McAlister said, was able to keep the flames at bay until Dixon fire units arrived at the incident. McAlister credits the sprinkler system at the apartment complex with stopping the spread of the fire and possibly saving some lives.

“It’s a success story for the fire sprinkler (system) that most likely saved some lives today,” McAlister said.

McAlister noted that the apartment complex is a high-risk occupancy structure because of the nature of the residents who live there. The fire was initially called in as fire alarm; Dixon fire crews often respond  to these type of calls around town, McAlister said.

“Rarely do they result in an actual incident,” he said, adding that in this case it did.

The fire is now out, but fire crews remain on scene investigating the cause. Dixon Patch will update the story as soon as we can.