A five-apartment house on Euclid Avenue was damaged by fire early this morning after a wall furnace reportedly caught fire.

Albert Lea Fire Capt. Scott Hanna said dispatchers received a call about the fire at 3:13 a.m. today at 519 Euclid Ave. A woman in one of the apartments reported smoke coming from her furnace.

When firefighters arrived there was light smoke in the apartment and an obvious hot spot above the furnace, Hanna said. Authorities evacuated residents from all five apartments.

He said Alliant Energy was also called in, and the wall was opened up. The inside of the wall was found to be on fire all the way up to the attic.

“It’s a good example of people paying attention and not being afraid to call for assistance,” Hanna said. “This wasn’t very far away from being a very bad fire.”

Albert Lea police assisted at the scene.

Hanna did not have an estimate on the damage.