What started as a grass fire spread and caught an apartment house on fire in Clinton, Iowa.
A passerby reported the fire at 1812 Roosevelt Street just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, 2014. That passerby also knocked on doors of the house to let anyone inside know there was a fire.
Clinton Police used a portable extinguisher from a patrol car to knock down flames until firefighters arrived.
Firefighters said they saw flames and light smoke coming from the building when they arrived.
“The fire appeared to have started outside, near a basement window well,” said a statement from the Clinton Fire Department.
Everyone escaped the building unharmed and no one was displaced by the fire, the statement said.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.