The fire that destroyed an apartment building at Quail Creek apartments in Shreveport was discovered by a resident who happened to wake up and see the glow from a fire in a heating unit, the lead investigator said today.

The 14-unit building is a total loss but no one was injured in Tuesday's early morning fire.

Fire Department investigator Randy Stephens said a woman woke up and saw a red glow coming from the electrical heating unit in the ceiling of the apartment. She got her 5-year-old daughter and a cousin out of the apartment and then tried to put the fire out, but it was too far along, Stephens said.

The apartment had a working smoke detector but the woman noticed the fire before smoke got into the apartment, Stephens said.

"Someone is living on the right side there," Stephens said of the woman's luck in discovering the fire early.

The fire got into the wall and then ran into the attic, making it difficult for firefighters to put it out.

Thirteen of the 14 units in the building were occupied.

An electrical engineer would determine how the fire started in the heating unit, authorities said.