Watt Avenue Apartment Fire Kills One Man, Injures Firefighter on Metro Fire's Third Call of the Morning

A three-story apartment complex in the 3500 block of Watt Avenue caught fire around 4:30 a.m. Friday, killing one man and sending a firefighter to the hospital. The man was found in a first-floor apartment where the fire appears to have started, according to Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials. Flames spread from the first floor up to second- and third-floor balconies, heavily damaging three apartments and leaving 27 others with smoke damage. Residents on the upper floors sheltered in place while crews worked the scene.

The fire came on a morning when Metro Fire was already stretched thin. Crews had responded to a grass fire and a house fire in Rio Linda before the apartment call came in, making this their third major incident before sunrise. The firefighter who was injured is expected to recover, with the hospitalization described as a precaution.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. For apartment residents across Sacramento County, the aftermath is a prompt to review escape routes and make sure smoke alarms are working, especially in buildings with shared hallways where smoke can travel quickly overnight.

Do you know two ways out of your apartment building? Take a minute and double check today.