A large apartment fire in Cahokia required the response of several area fire departments early Tuesday afternoon.

Columbia Fire Department was paged at 1 p.m. Tuesday to respond to a call for mutual aid to Cahokia for a fully engulfed apartment building in the 300 block of Cooper Drive.

Cahokia Fire Department requested assistance from nine fire departments including Columbia, Signal Hill, Alorton, Camp Jackson, Prairie du Pont, Millstadt and St. Clair County Special Emergency Services.

A Waterloo Fire Department pumper was taken to Columbia to stand by in case of a fire emergency until Columbia units returned to their station.

The entire structure was destroyed and initial reports from the scene are that a grease fire may have started the blaze that destroyed eight units.

One person was treated for minor burns.