Marshall Fire Department responded to two unrelated fires that broke out at Oak Manor Apartment complex Saturday, temporarily displacing two occupants.

“We are all very fortunate that neither of these incidents resulted in any injuries or deaths,” said Marshall Fire Chief Reggie Cooper.

“Though no physical injuries were noted, one Marshall fireman was treated on scene with IV fluids due to heat exhaustion,” said Cooper.

The fire chief noted that fire units were dispatched to the first fire at 8 a.m. Saturday after being alerted of a possible structure fire inside of one of the apartment units at Oak Manor, located at 2800 Victory Drive.

“The caller stated they could see smoke coming from the upstairs apartment and water dripping down inside their downstairs apartment, from the upper unit,” said Cooper. “The occupant quickly called 911 and was able to get out of the structure.”

“Fire units arrived to find fire within the upper, unoccupied apartment. It took a short staffed crew of 11 firefighters approximately two hours to safely contain and extinguish the fire,” he added. “The Fire Marshal was contacted, and from early indications, it appears this fire had been smoldering possibly for hours before someone notice smoke and water dripping down from a damaged water heater.”

Cooper said, at 1:36 p.m., Commanding Officer Randy Wilkerson sent a small crew to check on the earlier fire when they noted an elderly lady sitting outside and smoke coming from her apartment.

“Using an aggressive, offensive attack firefighters were able to enter the apartment and quickly extinguish a fire that had originated in the kitchen,” he said. “The two fires located at the same apartment complex were totally unrelated to one another. The single occupant in the second fire was able to exit the structure safely without injury. This fire was an accident, stemming from a cooking project left unattended for short amount of time.

The fire chief expressed his thanks to Emergency Services No. 3 fire chief Randy Pritchard and

We are very appreciative to Harrison County Emergency Services No. 3 battalion chief, Randy Pritchard, and members of ESD No. 3 who stopped and supported Marshall firefighters.

“They brought water, cold towels and Gatorade to our exhausted firefighters,” said Cooper. “Commanding officer, Randy Wilkerson, did an outstanding job managing several unrelated incidents occurring in and around both of these structure fires. There were several ambulance calls and two other vehicle fires that occurred during the second apartment fire.”

“Of the two fires, two occupants were affected and safely relocated, hopefully on a temporary basis,” said Cooper. “We encourage everyone to follow safe practices while cooking. Either of these incidents could have had very bad outcomes, however quick actions and an outstanding crew of firefighters were able to minimize damage as much as possible.”