Several Evansville Fire Department fire engines idle at the sidewalks along Franklin Street and 4th and Illinois Avenues.
The Evansville fire department is sweeping the 75-unit apartment complex Schnute Apartments in Evansville's Lamasco neighborhood.
The fire was reported at about 9am on Thursday. Everyone was evacuated, including residents in wheelchairs, and now they’re waiting outside or in the lobby to get back into their homes.
District Chief Eric Eifert said the fire was in a trash chute receptacle on the first floor, which sent smoke up into the second and third floors. They quickly removed the trash and extinguished the fire.
“It was a successful operation; we're just trying to get people back in their homes right now,” he said. “They're prohibited from putting smoking materials or other incendiary materials in the trash — someone obviously didn't follow that rule and that's what happens.”
Eifert said a couple residents had breathing difficulty and were checked by the EMS, but no one was transported to the hospital.
He said the only damage to the building was the trash chute itself and the sprinkler head that popped when it activated.
