Two fires broke out in Pierce County within about 13 hours starting Thursday, displacing 13 people and destroying a storage facility.
Three units burned when an apartment building caught fire in the 3500 block of Military Road East in the Spanaway area around 2 p.m. Thursday, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue said. The two-story building was up in flames and smoke when firefighters arrived.
Fire crews got the blaze under control by 3 p.m. before they helped support residents. Thirteen were displaced from their homes and one person was taken to a hospital.
About 13 hours later, the second Pierce County fire ignited and destroyed a storage facility in University Place.
Firefighters responded to the blaze in the 2400 block of 70th Avenue West around 2:50 a.m., according to West Pierce Fire and Rescue. Crews tried to fight the fire from within the building, but it became too dangerous to stay inside, so they had to switch to an exterior attack.
Despite the use of six engines, two ladder trucks, and the help of Tacoma firefighters, the 16-unit storage building was a total loss, fire crews said. The fire was under control by 5:30 a.m. and no one was injured.
The causes of both fires are under investigation.