Quick action by residents and a quick response by emergency crews contained a fire to a single apartment.

A 911 call came into the DeKalb police station about 3 p.m. Sunday, with reports of smoke in an apartment building at 919 W. Ridge Drive. Carrie Noble, a senior organizational corporate communication major, made the call after coming home to find her apartment reeking of smoke.

Noble and Pallavi Kumar, a senior electrical engineering major, who was visiting another resident, sat in their running cars to stay out of the biting cold as firefighters attempted to keep the fire away from other apartments.

Kumar, who was visiting Rajan Desai, a junior electrical engineering major, said an unidentified man noticed smoke from the road and knocked on all doors of the apartment building to get the residents out. None of the students knew the man they dubbed their good samaritan, but Kumar and Desai both were glad he was in the right place at the right time.

As soon as the hazard control inspections were done, residents were allowed to return to their apartments, said assistant Fire Chief Bruce Harrison. The only exception would be the occupant of the apartment that caught on fire, Tyrone B. Harris, who was not home at the time of the fire.

“Once we know the building is safe, we will let everyone back in,” Harrison said.

Harrison said, there have been no reports of injuries and no structural damage has been found. The fire, which caused $60,000 worth of damage, remains under investigation after the fire department determined there were multiple areas of ignition, according to the department’s press release.

The only arrest made at the fire was a juvenile for reportedly attempting to steal from an ambulance at the scene. The girl was taken into custody by the DeKalb Police Department, but no further details were available at press time.