Kitchen fire damages Columbus Villa apartment

A kitchen fire, possibly sparked by a candle, did $30,000 in damage to a Columbus apartment Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to the Columbus Villa Apartments on 27th Place at about 5:40 p.m.  yesterday and found heavy smoke and flames coming from apartment windows. Firefighter found the apartment door locked, so they attacked the kitchen fire from outside, extinguishing it. It was out just before 6 p.m.

Capt. Mike Wilson said that the apartment appeared unoccupied and a former resident said there were no utilities turned on at the location. She said that her family was mostly moved out, but were collecting things earlier in the day and had used a candle in the kitchen, but she thought she had extinguished it. .

Interior damage was limited to the single apartment, but flames damaged vinyl siding on the two-story townhome apartment building. Wilson said the fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage. The cause of the fire is undetermined, but investigators suspect the candle in the kitchen.