Four people escaped a structure fire on Gorman Avenue in St. John’s Saturday afternoon but a downstairs apartment suffered extensive damage during the incident.
When firefighters from the St. John’s Regional Fire Department arrived on scene at about 12:30 p.m., smoke was coming from the lower level of the home and they had to break into the unit to access the fire.
All four people in the upstairs unit, including one child and a person with special needs, were already out of the home.
Firefighters were able to knock the fire down quickly but not before the apartment suffered extensive damage and the upstairs unit was damaged by smoke.
An official on scene said it appeared the fire originated in the kitchen of the vacant unit.
None of the upstairs residents was injured but they will be displaced from the home due to the smoke damage.
No cause has been determined and the incident is under investigation.