Apartment destroyed in building fire

A three-story apartment complex suffered damage from a fire Sunday evening.

A three-story apartment complex suffered damage from a fire Sunday evening.

One unit of the Townhouse Apartments at 417 Bellevue Way Southeast has been destroyed by the blaze, said Bellevue Fire Lt. Troy Donlin. The fire was called in at 8:35 p.m. Sunday when a neighbor reported seeing smoke. Fire crews initially came expecting a smoky building but were greeted by a full on fire that eventually took 17 units from Bellevue, Mercer Island and Redmond to take care of.

One person was inside the unit just before the fire, and may have been cooking. A smoke alarm sounded and the person left the fire. One person refused care, Donlin said, but it is unclear if that was the displaced resident.

A second unit in the building received smoke damage. A Bellevue fire investigator has not yet determined the cause of the blaze, Donlin said.