A Baldwin City man is back in his duplex apartment after a morning fire.

Baldwin City Fire Chief Allen Craig said his department responded at 8:30 a.m. Sunday to a fire at 509 High St. Firefighters arriving at the scene a block east of the Baldwin City fire station found flames erupting from the bottom northwest corner of the duplex, which they quickly extinguished with the use of less than 1,000 gallons of water.

Damage, which he estimated to be about $1,000, was limited to fire damage to the structure’s siding and smoke damage to the west duplex’s basement and crawlspace, Allen said. He said the cause was still unknown.

The resident of the apartment, Red Whitesell, was able to return to his residence, Allen said. The residents of the eastern half of the duplex were unaffected by the fire, he said.

Units from the Palmyra and Willow Spring township fire departments and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical also responded to the fire, Allen said.