Fire crews were able to save most of a multiunit apartment building from flames Saturday night on Cottage Street in Norway.

Norway Fire Chief David Knox said crews responded in about one minute to the 9:08 p.m. call from neighbors about the building at 26 Cottage St. . 

Crews were met with heavy fire conditions on the front of the building and inside two first-floor apartments. 

Knox said crews were able to quickly knock the fire down.

According to a statement by the Office of State Fire Marshal, which is assisting in the investigation, the fire likely started on the front porch among combustible materials ignited by the improper discarding of smoking materials. 

The cause of the fire was classified as accidental.

Functioning smoke alarms were credited for alerting residents to the fire and allowing for safe escape, according to the statement.

Knox said the apartment building, consisting of about 15 units, was saved, though four units in the front of the building were damaged and are unlivable. 

All tenants were able to escape the building.

Two tenants from one of the units were transported to a hospital for injuries sustained in the incident, according to the statement. Both have since been released.

Knox said all but one pet — a cat that likely escaped to the outdoors — were accounted for. 

“Timing is a big deal on everything we do,” Knox said. “We were there pretty quickly, hit it really quick, got it knocked down, then put crews into the building and a ladder truck up to vent the building.”

According to the fire marshal’s statement, some tenants will be able to return to their apartments in the next few days. 

Crews from Paris, Oxford, Mechanic Falls, Otisfield and West Paris assisted with the fire and Hebron and Greenwood covered Norway’s station.

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