By Cathy Locke
clocke@sacbee.com
A three-alarm apartment fire tonight heavily damaged the Twin Garden at 5831 Fair Oaks Blvd., a blaze that may have been started by an explosion.
The fire was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and was brought under control by 8 p.m.
One resident told The Bee that the fire was preceded by a hissing sound, then an explosion and a giant fireball.
One firefighter suffered heat-releated injuries.
An unknown number of people were evacuated.
Charles Henderson, an apartment resident, said there was an explosion, followed by a fireball.
"I heard a big hissing sound," he said. "The hissing ended with a massive fireball and explosion."
He said the hissing sound came from the area where the apartment's natural gas and power lines are.
Henderson said he had just left his apartment and was a couple of blocks away when the fire happened.
Battalion Chief Scott Cockrum of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said 10 or more units were burned. The two-story complex has approximately 35 units, Henderson said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, Cockrum said.
The complex was evacuated and an unknown number of residents were displaced.
The fire apparently started on the southside of the complex and spread through the second-story units and the attics, Cockrum said.
Portions of the apartment's roof were blown across the street.
Fair Oaks Boulevard was closed south of El Camino Avenue due to the fire. The California Highway Patrol said the closure lasted until about 9 p.m.
Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.
Bee photo by Andy Alfaro: Sac Metro firefighters vent the roof of the Twin Garden Apartments during a three-alarm blaze in Fair Oaks Wednesday.
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