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NILES TOWNSHIP — Two Berrien County Sheriff’s deputies were treated for smoke inhalation following a Niles Township apartment fire Tuesday morning.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office was called to the 1300 block of Leisure Lane in Niles Township around 4:49 a.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived on scene, they observed fire coming from one of the apartment buildings.

While first responders determined that the occupants of that apartment had already been safely evacuated, deputies from the sheriff’s office and a Buchanan police officer entered the building to evacuate other complex occupants who were asleep at the time of the fire.

The responding fire departments were able to safely extinguish the flames at 5:14 a.m.

Following the fire, two sheriff’s deputies were treated at Spectrum Health Lakeland in Niles for smoke inhalation they sustained while helping apartment occupants evacuate.

The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation.

Assisting agencies include the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, Buchanan police and fire departments, Niles city and township fire departments, SMCAS, SEMCO Energy and Indiana Michigan Power. The Berrien County chapter of the American Red Cross assisted with providing shelter for those displaced by the fire.