WESTERLO — A fire that broke out Tuesday afternoon in a Westerlo apartment on Route 412 left inhabitants and first-responders unscathed, but will likely lead to a loss of that apartment, Westerlo Volunteer Fire Company Deputy Chief Kevin Flensted told The Enterprise this week. 

“I think it was about 12:18 [p.m.] that we got dispatched. I was the first one on the scene,” he said. “It was declared a … room-and-contents fire. We probably used less than 300 gallons of water to extinguish it and we were out of there probably about 3:30 or so.”

Flensted said the fire sprang from a propane heater. The apartment suffered smoke and water damage, he said, while water also damaged the garage beneath it. An attached home was spared entirely, he said. 

“I talked to the codes guy last night and I think they’re going to do a permit to rebuild it,” Flensted said on Thursday. 

Mary-Alice Molgard, of American Red Cross, told The Enterprise that the not-for-profit had not been contacted about the fire, but that the residents can still call 1-800-RED-CROSS for any assistance they may need.