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Last updated on Wednesday, December 9, 2015
(WASHINGTON) - A fire Friday morning that sent six people to the hospital was started after an electrical problem in the building.
The fire was reported at 5:15 a.m. by Kristin Lintz. She and her three children were able to escape the blaze.
Police woke residents in upstairs apartments, but not before the building had filled with smoke.
The building sustained major damage and may be a total loss.
Lintz and her three children were taken to Daviess Community Hospital and were treated and released.The Satterfield family was taken to St. Mary's Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and were then released.
Washington Police officer Derrick Devine, one of the officers that helped evacuate residents also suffered smoke inhalation and was treated and released at Daviess Community Hospital.
Washington Fire Chief David Rhoads says there were no smoke detectors in the apartment building.
The state Fire Marshal determined the fire started in a utility room after an electrical overload in an outlet.
Rhoads says this is not the first time of electrical problems at the apartments. The building has knob and tube wiring. The furnace in the building was also not operating and the downstairs resident had been using some alternate electrical heat sources to keep their family warm that led to the electrical overload.
The Red Cross has provided temporary shelter for the families that lost most everything in the blaze.
The members of the fire department union will also take the children out and buy them some needed basic items.
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