Five injured, including one firefighter, in Friday night fire in Mount Vernon area

A boarded-up window is seen at the Courts at Mount Vernon apartments Saturday morning after a fire the previous night.

Five people, including one firefighter, suffered injuries during a fire in a garden apartment complex in the Mount Vernon area Friday night.

Firefighters responded to the blaze in a ground-floor unit of the Courts at Mount Vernon complex at 3605 Derwood Lane just before midnight, according to department spokesman Will Bailey. Two adults and two children in the ground-floor unit were awakened by a smoke alarm, according to Bailey. The children and one adult were able to evacuate on their own, Bailey said, but neighbors needed to help one of the adults from the apartment. 

The fire was put out around 12:15 a.m. A total of 27 people were evacuated during the blaze, but all were able to return to the units except for the apartment where the fire broke out.

The four injured residents and one firefighter were treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Bailey said. 

The cause of the fire is believed to be an electrical event, and the investigation is ongoing, Bailey said. 

The Red Cross is assisting those who were displaced by the fire.