An apartment fire in Centreville, Virginia, on Saturday evening was caused by discarded fireplace ashes.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to the Reserve at Regency apartment complex in the 14400 block of Newton Patent Court in Centreville shortly after 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
Three people who were inside the apartment at the time of the fire, on a third-floor balcony, all escaped unharmed before the fire department’s arrival.
Firefighters battled the wind-driven two-alarm fire with assistance from the Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue System and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority’s Fire and Rescue.
About 28 occupants of the building were displaced because of the fire, 14 have accepted assistance from the Red Cross.
The cause of the fire was determined to be improperly discarded fireplace ashes, an accident, according to fire investigators.
Damages are estimated at approximately $370,100.
