Man killed in Tacoma apartment fire has been identified

A Tacoma man who died early Tuesday when his apartment caught fire has been identified as 39-year-old Lonnie Malone.

Fire investigators say a wall heater ignited items nearby in Malone’s downstairs unit at the Spanish Hills apartments, 6409 S. 12th St.

A passerby spotted smoke about 1:20 a.m. and called 911.

“While we were knocking the fire down, we did find a single occupant in the apartment,” Tacoma Fire spokesman Joe Meinecke said.

No one else was injured.

As firefighters worked to put out the blaze, they brought in a bus to shelter residents of the building who were evacuated.

Since no other apartments were damaged, residents were allowed to return to their homes within a short time.

Officials said Malone, who was originally from Chicago, lived alone.

This story was originally published January 2, 2018 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Man killed in Tacoma apartment fire has been identified."