City of Durham fire investigator Lennis Harris said a one-bedroom apartment at 4230 Garrett Road caught fire about 7:30 p.m. and spread to other units. It took firefighters about one hour to put it out.

Shrewsbury said that while some units were burned in the fire, others were damaged by smoke and the water used by firefighters to extinguish the fire.

Investigators were still trying to figure out the cause of the fire Sunday afternoon. Harris said there could be link between the fire and a car parked nearby with profanity written on it in lipstick.

"I am not ruling out arson, and I am not ruling out that it was accidental," Harris said. Harris said the fire started in apartment H32, traveled through the attic and caused damage to 24 other apartments. The resident of apartment H32 was not home, and nobody was injured, Harris said. Wellington Place manager Belinda Mitchell would not comment on the fire.

Staff writer Lovemore Masakadza can be contacted at 956-2401 or lmasakad@newsobserver.com.