A fire that began in the laundry room of a small apartment complex in east Ames resulted in about $700 worth of damage Monday night, officials said.

The Ames Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at 1018 Lincoln Way at 7:34 p.m. Monday. City of Ames Assessor records indicate the 6-unit apartment complex is owned by Kimberley Management Company.

Edward Hartwick, age 14, discovered the laundry room of the apartment complex saturated with smoke.

“He went down to get some wood out of the storage closet,” said Edward’s mother, Donna Hartwick, 1018 Lincoln Way. “A trash can was on fire.”

“I’m so scared,” Edward said on the scene Monday night, his shoulders trembling.

“Honey, it’s okay,” Donna said.

Captain Scott Siberski of the Ames Fire Department said no one was injured in the blaze.

“It looks like discarded smoking materials in a waste can [started the fire],” Siberski said.

Lieutenant Jerry Deters of the Ames Fire Department said dry wall adjacent to the trash can kept the fire from spreading quickly.

If the fire would have spread to a different nearby wall, it would have spread very quickly, he said.

“There was just smoke,” Edward said.

“Not a lot of flames, just smoke.”