He said the Washington County Red Cross helped some of the people find lodging, while others stayed with family or friends.
Insurance agents were expected to visit the scene Tuesday to assess the damage, DeHaven said.
Although DeHaven did not have a damage estimate, he said the fire caused extensive damage to Apt. 3, where the blaze started. There was minor smoke damage to the rest of the building, and residents were able to move back into their apartments Tuesday with the exception of Apt. 3, DeHaven said.
Monday’s fire was reported at 9:20 p.m. Firefighters used ladders to rescue five people from the building, including three from the second floor, and two from the third floor, fire officials said Monday.
Battalion Fire Chief Mark Cleck said Monday that when firefighters arrived, they were told by bystanders that people were trapped inside.
A woman who was rescued said she was alerted to the fire by people from outside the building.
“All I saw was the smoke,” Linda Eikelberger said. “I shut the door and called 911 and told them my building was on fire.”
Eikelberger said 911 dispatchers kept her on the line and told her what to do, which included putting a wet towel across the bottom of her door.
A firefighter then rescued Eikelberger through her second-floor window using a ladder, she said.
Eikelberger said her cat still was in her apartment, but a firefighter told her the animal was under a bed and was fine.
John Foster told firefighters that the grease fire started when he was cooking in his apartment, and it spread to a wood shelf.
Foster said he lives in his apartment with two children, and they were able to get out.
Cooking remains a leading cause of house fires in Maryland and the nation, State Fire Marshal William E. Barnard said in a May 30 news release.
Barnard said fire officials have made less headway in preventing cooking fires than preventing other types of blazes. People often forget about food cooking on a stove when they are distracted by situations like a phone call or children, he said.
