Seventeen people have been displaced by a fire that erupted Monday afternoon in a Coachella apartment complex, causing a minor injury to one civilian, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter.
"One civilian patient assessed at scene for minor injuries and declined transport or further care," a fire department tweet said.
Eleven adults and six children have been left temporarily homeless by the blaze, which broke out on the 50600 block of Cesar Chavez Street, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department incident reports said. The Red Cross and neighbors are helping the fire victims, KESQ reported.
Not much is reported on the origin of the fire, other than that it started on the building's second story. The KESQ article includes a comment from a Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department spokesman saying the cause of the apartment fire remained under investigation as of Tuesday.
The fire gutted one second-story apartment unit. Two additional units suffered heavy water damage, the fire department said. Firefighters arrived at the blaze at about 1:05 p.m. and had it contained some 40 minutes later, the department said.
According to Riverside County Fire Department's website, the department responded to a total of 379 fires during the week of May 17 to May 23, but fighting fires is only one of its responsibilities. During that week, the department responded to 3,221 medical emergencies, 38 hazardous materials incidents and 170 miscellaneous calls. The most recent year-to-date total for 2023 incidents is 59,598, the website says.