UMATILLA — About 40 firefighters from four departments responded to a fire at Country Club Apartments in Umatilla on Monday, May 17, according to Steven Potts, fire chief of the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District.

Firefighters with the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District were first notified of alarms going off at the complex at 8:13 p.m., followed by reports of smoke coming from a third floor apartment, Potts said. Crews arrived on the scene in seven minutes, and by then, the fire had spread to the apartment on the fourth floor.

Because of windy conditions, there was concern the blaze would spread even further, but firefighters contained the blaze using portable water extinguishers while establishing a water supply on the third floor, Potts said.

With the help of fire officials from Umatilla County Fire District 1, Echo, Boardman and Irrigon, the fire was declared under control a little more than an hour after the first alarms had gone off. Potts said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but added “it appears to be failure of an electrical component.”

The total cost of damage to the two apartments, as well as water damage to the floors below, amounted to approximately $200,000, Potts said, adding he expected people living in six units to have “long-term displacement.”

Officials with the Umatilla Police Department and the Umatilla School District helped people who had been displaced when the Red Cross was unable to provide assistance, Potts said.

There were no injuries reported, according to Potts.