Varsity Villas fire destroys kitchen

An apartment in the Varsity Villas caught fire Sunday destroying the kitchen and causing extensive smoke damage to the rest of the apartment. \nThe cause of the fire is still under investigation. \nJunior Jessica Fifer made the call to police when she noticed the fire at \naround 6 p.m., Sunday.\nAs her roommate left the apartment, Fifer glanced across the street and noticed a blaze. Originally, she thought someone was grilling, but called police when she noticed no one was outside. \n"I saw flames around the window and then called 911," Fifer said. "The bottom half of the kitchen window (had) collapsed in."\nHeadquarter sergeant for the Bloomington Fire Department Scott McKnight said the fire was confined to the kitchen. The rest of the house had smoke damage. \nFirefighters had to pull the ceilings and take the kitchen cabinets apart.\n"We had to check to make sure the fire extended to what we could see," McKnight said. \nThermal imaging cameras were then used to determine how much heat still \nexisted. This way, they could make sure the fire wouldn't start again. \nEngine three of the BFD got to the scene first.\n"The crew knocked the fire out," McKnight said. \nCapt. Fred Matthews forced the door to gain entry into the apartment and \ncontain the fire. \nThe residents weren't home at the time of the fire and no injuries were \nreported. \n-- Contact staff writer Andrea Opperman at acopperm@indiana.edu