STAPLES, Minn. (KWAD) — A late-night fire at the Staples Hi Rise Apartments sent one victim to the hospital and displaced several residents on Wednesday, November 19.

According to a release from the Staples Fire Department, crews were dispatched at 9:27 p.m. after an activated smoke detector and general fire alarm sounded inside the 60-unit complex on the 600 block of 4th Street NE. While en route, firefighters were advised that smoke was already visible on the building’s second floor.

Upon arrival, firefighters conducted a primary search and located a victim inside the apartment where the fire originated, caused by a faulty electric chair lift. The individual was transported to Lakewood Health System by ambulance and later airlifted to a metro-area hospital. The victim’s condition has not been released.

Fire crews were able to contain the blaze to a single living unit, but several neighboring apartments sustained minor smoke damage. Multiple tenants were displaced by the smoke and are now receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

The Staples Fire Department was assisted at the scene by Lakewood Health Systems Ambulance, Motley Fire Department, Verndale Fire Department, Staples Police Department, the sheriff’s offices of both Wadena and Todd counties, and the Minnesota Fire Marshal Division.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.