Temple Housing Employees Save Apartment from Fire Minutes After Completing Fire Safety Course

Temple Fire & Rescue officials are crediting a group of Central Texas Housing Consortium employees with saving a woman's apartment from being gutted by a fire mere minutes after completing a fire safety course.

Five minutes after finishing a hands-on fire extinguisher training course conducted Temple firefighters, the employees heard cries for help coming from a unit at the Jonathan Moore Apartments, at 711 West Calhoun Avenue. They ran to the unit and used portable extinguishers to put out a fire. Thomas Pechal with Temple Fire and Rescue said Thursday that the employees' quick action limited the damage to the apartment to less than $1,000.

No one was injured in the fire. The family occupying the apartment will be assisted by the Red Cross until it's safe to return to the unit. Firefighters say the fire was unintentional, though the cause is currently undetermined.