A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in two students' apartment, causing $20,000 worth of damage, according to the Tucson Fire Department.
The fire is believed to have started by a candle left burning in the two UA students' upstairs apartment at Palm Shadows Apartment complex, 1815 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson Fire Department Capt. Paul McDonough said the fire started around 2:30 p.m. and was under control within seven minutes of TFD's arrival.
No one was hurt or injured in the fire, McDonough said.
Computer engineering sophomore Sam Naser, a resident of Palm Shadows, said he pulled up to his apartment around 3 p.m. and saw two fire trucks.
Naser said students were lying on the sidewalks outside of building B, where the fire took place, because they had been evacuated.
Communication senior LeAna Porter, a resident of Palm Shadows, said her brother Jonathan and his girlfriend were residents of the apartment where the blaze started.
Porter said Jonathan and his girlfriend were at the movies when the fire took place.
Three hours after the fire was extinguished, Porter said she was moving the couple's charred clothes and CDs into her apartment, which is in a different building.
"Most of the damage was to the bedroom, but everything in the apartment is going to have to be cleaned. Everything's just gray," she said. "It's all going to need to be replaced."
There was extensive fire and heat damage to the bedroom of the upstairs apartment where the burning candle was believed to have been. The living room also had extensive smoke damage, McDonough said.
The apartment directly below suffered extensive water damage as a result of efforts to control the fire, McDonough said.
Porter said nothing valuable was ruined in the fire because the computers and most of the electronics were in the living room. Jonathan Porter, an undeclared freshman, and his girlfriend will probably be staying with family for the next few days and then will try to move into another apartment, Porter said.
Candles left unattended are dangerous, and even candles left in holders can change shapes or be knocked over by pets, McDonough said.
"Whenever you leave a room, even if it's only to go into the next room, blow out any candles," McDonough said. "It's a safety issue."