A fire in a dryer ventilation shaft at a New Iberia apartment complex Sunday temporarily left several people displaced from their homes.

New Iberia Fire Chief Gordon Copell said the NIFD received a call at 8:43 a.m. Sunday to report a dryer fire at Iberia South Apartments on Adrian Street.

Although the call received was about a dryer, Copell said firefighters discovered smoke and fire in a ventilation shaft between the first and second floors of the building.

After the fire was out and the smoke cleared, firefighters recommended that the tenants in the apartment block stay out of the building until an electrician could make an inspection and determine it was safe.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

While firefighters were on the scene, a chunk of ceiling fell on the head of one of the New Iberia firefighters. Copell said that firefighter was taken to Iberia Medical Center as a precaution.