A fire broke out overnight at a business on Washington Way in Longview, forcing the evacuation of apartments above the building.

The Longview Fire Department said crews responded around 12:30 a.m. today to the 1800 block of Washington Way, next to the Divine Market. Businesses in the strip-style building include Sonny Nails, A&B Tax Financial Multiservice, and the Retagit Thrift Store.

Firefighters found an active blaze inside one of the businesses and, with help from Longview Police, evacuated tenants from six upstairs apartments. The fire was knocked down within minutes.

Battalion Chief Matt Amos said the business had no working fire alarms, delaying detection. “We were lucky a passerby notified us,” Amos said. “Otherwise this could have been really bad with the six apartments above. A single smoke alarm would’ve drawn attention a lot sooner.”

Officials did not release the extent of the damage but said smoke spread to neighboring businesses.