A sleeping man awakened by a smoke alarm at 1201 11th St., Rock Island, tried to put out a fire before firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished the blaze on Monday morning.

Rodney Scott had just fallen back asleep after taking his wife to work when he was awakened by the sound of smoke alarms going off on the second floor of his duplex, according toRock Island Fire Battalion Chief Paul Hoffeditz.

Mr. Scott unlocked the back door of the upper unit and found it unoccupied and filled with smoke. He tried to extinguish the fire, which was contained to the kitchen, but was "forced out by the smoke and the heat," and called the fire department, the battalion chief said.

Firefighters arrived at about 9:58 a.m., and found a small amount of fire showing from the southwest corner window. The fire was extinguished by 10:06 a.m.

The occupant of the upstairs unit, Terrence Pullion, was notified of the blaze and arrived soon after. Few possessions were damaged since Mr. Pullion had moved into the residence only three days prior, the battalion chief said.

No one was injured, and officials said there was about $5,000 of damage to the upper floor, but the first floor apartment still is habitable.

The owner of the property said the building is not insured.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.