Smoldering fire displaces apartment residents

The Jefferson City Fire Department extinguished fire in a smoke-filled residence early this morning.

Firefighters were called around 4 a.m. to investigate a report of smoke in an apartment in the 600 block of Clark Avenue, according to a department spokesman.

They discovered and extinguished a small smoldering fire in a bathroom within the first-floor residence of the building, which contains two other occupied apartments. The local Red Cross was called to assist the residents with temporary lodging.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but appears to be accidental in nature.