An apartment and all its contents were destroyed in a fire Wednesday in the 300 block of South Second Street in Elma, according to Brian Baldwin, public information officer for Fire District 2.

A resident of the apartment had evacuated uninjured but returned to retreive a cat. That resident was transported to Summit Pacific Medical Center for smoke inhalation as a precaution. Firefighters were able to retrieve the cat, which was left in the care of the apartment manager.

The fire was visible from State Route 12 and was first reported at 5:23 p.m., said Baldwin. Crews were able to extinguish the fire and contain it to a single apartment, which was completely destroyed, in about a half hour. The apartment below the destroyed unit suffered significant water damage and two adjacent units suffered minor smoke damage.

Personnel and equipment from Fire District 2, McCleary Fire, Fire District 12 and Fire District 5 were used to fight the fire. There were no additional injuries to residents or responders.

“Battalion Chief Adam Fulbright said in an after-action meeting that the response from volunteers and staff to fight the fire was impressive, and contributed to containing the fire to the one apartment,” said Baldwin. The cause of the fire is under investigation.