Weekend fire damages 9 Eastlake Woods apartments

Nine units were damaged Saturday in a fire at Eastlake Woods apartments in Columbus.

According to the Columbus Fire Department, firefighters were called to the scene on Thornton Court at about 8:32 p.m. Saturday night about a fire in an apartment. Thick smoke was coming from the three-story building and flames were coming from a second floor apartment when firefighters arrived. Fire crews entered the building to find intense flames and it took about 20 minutes to get the fire under control.

During the overhaul, firefighters discovered a hidden pocket of flames that had gone from the second to third floors. Firefighters worked on the scene for about four hours.

All of the occupants of the apartments were out of the building when firefighters arrived.

The apartment complex has three buildings with six units each and of those three apartments had fire damage and six had a combination of smoke and water damage. Damages are estimated at more than $300,000 thousand dollars. Tenants in all nine apartments were displaced but have housing lined up with family and friends, according to the fire department.

The fire is under investigation.