An apartment fire was quickly contained early Friday morning in Jefferson.

Police Chief Mark Clouse says the Jefferson Fire and Police departments, Greene County Sheriff’s office and Greene County Emergency Medical Services responded to the fire at an apartment building in the 300 block of South Wilson Avenue Friday morning at 3:49am. Clouse tells Raccoon Valley Radio the occupant of the southeast apartment turned on the wall furnace and by the time he was done making coffee, he noticed a fire had started when the heat from the furnace ignited a stack of nearby newspapers. Clouse states that when they arrived on scene, the occupants of the apartment building were evacuated along with the residence around the area as a precaution.

Fire Chief Randy Love tells Raccoon Valley Radio when they arrived on scene, they could see flames coming from the apartment front door with lots of smoke. The apartment where the fire originated was a total loss and the other four apartments suffered only smoke and water damage. No one was hurt in the incident and crews were on scene for over two hours.

Emergency Management Coordinator Dennis Morlan contacted the Red Cross to assist the occupants with temporary shelter and other needs at this time.