Press pictures for larger

Five  of 30 apartments were damaged at the Kirkland Apartments at 803 Fairview Rd. after fire broke out at about 4:15 p.m. last Thursday.

The fire started on the balcony of a top floor corner unit and then spread to the roof and into the apartment itself.

“It started on the outside and it went up into the attic space and started to come into the building,” says a Penticton Fire Department spokesman.

The exact cause of the blaze has not yet been determined. Investigators have not yet been able to talk to the resident of the apartment. She was treated for shock at the hospital but was not injured by the blaze

Most of the residents of the building were allowed to return their suites four hours after the fire broke out.The five damaged units remained unoccupied for the night. Three of the residents were allowed back in the next day.  Clean up crews and fire investigators continue to assess the damage.