Memphis Fire Department: Two dead in Midtown apartment fire Friday afternoon

Two 61-year-olds are dead after a fire at an apartment building in Midtown Memphis Friday afternoon, the Memphis Fire Department said.

MFD responded to a blaze in an apartment at a building located at 1271 Poplar Ave., near the intersection of Poplar and Cleveland, at 2:38 p.m. Friday. The fire was extinguished, MFD said, by 2:52 p.m.

A woman was found dead in the apartment by firefighters.

Shortly after the fire was put out, MFD said one person had died in the blaze and another person, a man, was transported from the building to Regional One Health in critical condition. In a follow-up interview with MFD Public Information Officer Qwanesha Ward, she said the man taken to the hospital had died.

MFD said the fire started on the 7th floor of the Bryton Tower building, in apartment 710, on the inside of the patio door. Investigators, in a press release sent out just after 7:30 p.m. Friday night, said the fire was accidental and the cause of the fire listed as "electrical."

Ward said the fire was contained to apartment 710.

Some residents were sheltering in place within the apartment complex Friday afternoon, but MFD personnel evacuated other residents based on their proximity to the fire and health issues they may have.

The 8th floor of the building was unoccupied, MFD said, and nobody was evacuated from that floor.

By 3:40 p.m., Memphis fire trucks appeared to begin clearing the area. MFD said another press conference will be hosted by MFD later Friday.

Ward added Friday evening that no firefighters were injured.

The building, according to the Shelby County Assessor's website, was built in 1964. In 2016, ownership of the property was transferred from the Shelby County Government to the Bryton Tower Homeowner's Association via a quit claim deed.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Two dead in Midtown apartment fire Friday afternoon