A late afternoon fire that damaged a four-plex apartment building in Parkview Apartments on Salem’s east side claimed the life of a resident, said Salem Fire Chief Tom Day.
No name or identification is being released at this time. Cause of death and identification will be left up to Washington County Coroner Rondale Brishaber. Day spent about two hours after the fire was extinguished with the Fire Marshall investigating the scene for a cause.
Day said the fire likely started in the living room/family room area. Day said fire was shooting out the front windows and door when firefighters arrived.
One apartment was a total loss with an adjacent apartment receiving some smoke and water damage. Two other apartments in the building received some minor smoke damage.
The department received the alarm at 4:40p Tuesday afternoon and responded to 817 Parkview Drive, Apartment 2 within minutes.
Members of the Salem Fire Department, Salem Police Department and EMS were on scene most of the afternoon.
Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by 6p, said Day.
“I have to credit the firefighters for doing a good job of keeping the fire contained to one apartment,” said Day late Tuesday night.
Stay tuned to WSLM RADIO and wslmradio.com for more details on Wednesday.
