SEDWICK COUNTY – Four fire fighters were hospitalized after fighting a Kansas apartment building fire on Monday.

Just before 8 p.m. fire crews responded to report of a fire at an apartment complex in the 700 Block of North Country Acres near the intersection of Central and Ridge in Wichita, according to Stuart Bevis, acting Fire Marshal with the Wichita Fire Department.

First units on the scene observed significant fire from one apartment and initiated a second alarm.

One entire building, especially the upper floors, was severely damaged, according to Bevis. A number of residents were evacuated.

Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries and four were transported to a hospital for treatment and released.

The cause of the fire was accidental due to unattended cooking. The occupant of the apartment had left after cooking and didn’t turn off the stove, according to Bevis.

The apartment is an older building without sheetrock just paneling on studs, according to Bevis.

The blaze was responsible for over $650,000 dollars in damage to the structure and $100,000 dollars to contents.

The Red Cross is assisting 21 occupants displaced in the building.