Asheville apartment building fire ruled accidental

ASHEVILLE - A fire Friday night that displaced about 18 people from a two-story North Asheville apartment building has been ruled accidental.

No one was injured in the blaze at Westall Apartments off Merrimon Avenue, which started at 6:04 p.m.

More than 40 firefighters from the city department had the fire out by 6:40 p.m., said Assistant Fire Chief Barry Hendren. "A lot of the commotion will be winding down," he said around 7 p.m. One lane of Merrimon Avenue was closed during the incident.

The Red Cross was on the scene and preparing to provide temporary housing to the residents.

Eight units were damaged.

The cause was an electric heater in the room of origin in a basement apartment, said Breena Williams, an investigator with the Asheville-Buncombe Arson Task Force.

Cody Brand, who lives on the upper floor of the building, said he was inside at the time and heard a loud boom. He left the building before fire crews arrived on the scene.

"We don't know where it started yet," he said. "All we know is there was a lot of smoke."

Firefighters cut a hole through the roof of one apartment to let smoke out.

John Staley lives with Sofia Otero in that apartment.

Staley said he was inside and also heard a loud bang and started smelling smoke.

"I kind of just grabbed my shoes and ran outside because that was a lot of smoke smell really fast," he said. "It just got worse from there."

Lenny DiMaio, co-owner of Noi's Thai Kitchen on Merrimon Avenue, ran to the scene from his restaurant when he heard the news. When he arrived, he gasped, worried about his four employees who live in the building.

They walk to work, he said. He wanted to make sure they got out and weren't hurt.

"Apparently, I'm a little fortunate," he said, catching his breath. "I was scared. All the Thai Kitchen people live in the building facing the fire, thank God they're OK."

The apartment building on Westall Drive next to Wendy's has one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, according to the website of Leslie and Associates.