Five people displaced following heavy fire at Tacoma apartment building Wednesday

A fire at an apartment building in Tacoma displaced five people Wednesday night.

Tacoma firefighters were dispatched to an apartment fire in the 1000 block of South 14th Street at 8:47 p.m. Fire crews reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the two-story four-plex, according to Tacoma Fire on X.

Firefighters attempted to put out the fire, which had spread from a first-floor unit to a second-floor unit. It then spread throughout the attic, the post said. Fire crews transitioned to a “defensive strategy” to put the flames out after the building’s structure was compromised.

Crews remained on the scene overnight and worked to put out hot spots Thursday morning. One resident was transported to the hospital in stable condition for further medical evaluation. The cause is under investigation, the post said.

Tacoma Fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said that a preliminary ruling is that the fire started from an electronic malfunction. Since the building is badly damaged and unstable, it will take longer to determine the official cause.