Norwich - A fire that broke out at the Cambridge Estate apartment complex at 52 Oxford Drive was quickly contained this morning, with most of the damage contained to the outside entrance of one unit in the Tudor style complex.

The tenant, Brian Vandeventer, said he returned home and went to bed in his second floor bedroom when he woke up a short time later to the smell of smoke coming in the window and the apartment’s smoke alarms. Vandeventer said there was a fire in a recycling bin near the front door. He said he tried to smother it with a shovel and others used a fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived and fully extinguished the blaze. 

The apartment is still habitable and Vandeventer said he has renter’s insurance. A Navy sailor, Vandeventer said he returned from deployment aboard the USS New Mexico just recently and was trying to relax.

The Yantic and East Great Plains Fire Department responded to the scene along with a FAST team. The fire was called in at 11:19 a.m., according to Norwich Police.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, though Vandeventer said the fire officials suspected it was caused by a smoldering cigarette butt.