On Monday, March 30 at 8:35 am the Bismarck Fire Department responded to a report of the smell of smoke in a condominium at 1115 Jefferson Ave. Upon arrival the firefighters found a slight haze in several of the units. An extensive search through all the open units did not provide a source of the smoke. The owner of 1121 Jefferson Ave. was not at home and could not be located so firefighters forced open the door. Once inside, they used a thermal imager to detect an area of heat in the ceiling. When the ceiling area was exposed a smoldering fire was found. The fire was extinguished with a water extinguisher. The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical and was confined to the area of origin.
Damage was limited to the floor/ceiling assembly and the radiant heating system. The occupants of the one unit will be displaced for a short time. Preliminary fire loss estimates are approximately $15,000.