At 10:15 p.m. Tuesday North Niles Villa resident Cheryl Gombosi heard the fire alarm go off in the apartment building. Then the room began to fill with smoke.

“The next thing I knew it was really bad,” Gombosi said.

Gombosi, a two-year resident of the apartment complex, located at 1819 N. Fifth St. was one of approximately 20 residents to be evacuated, after a fire started in the kitchen of a third-floor apartment in Building A. The North Niles Villa building contained 16 total units, including units for families.

Larry Lamb said authorities’ first priority upon arriving at the scene was to make sure that all the people were out of the building.

“We were yanking some people out of their beds,” Lamb said. “Our biggest priority was safety.”

One man who was trapped on a third-story balcony was rescued. The man was taken to the hospital via SMCAS and was treated for smoke inhalation.

The man’s condition is unknown at this time.

Once residents were out of the building, multiple units who responded from across counties and the state line battled the blaze. Lamb said it took authorities about an hour to put the fire out, but that crews remained on scene till about 2:30 a.m.

Lamb said the “fast-moving” fire spread to the attic, where plenty of oxygen fueled the flames. Once the fire reached the attic, it spread across the length of the building.

There were five ladder trucks on the scene, but Lamb said only two were needed to put the fire out.

The apartment building was equipped with fire alarms, but there were no sprinklers inside the building. Because the building was constructed in the 1970s, Lamb said this was up to code. Regular inspections of the apartments had not resulted in any citations, Lamb said.

“The complex has always been good to work with. We do inspect them regularly,” Lamb said. “This was an accidental fire.”

Gombosi returned to the scene Wednesday morning to take pictures of the wreckage. The smell of smoke still hung heavy in the air. On the roof of the building, the only remains were a few charred wooden beams. Water and ash littered the ground around the building.

Since the fire, Gambosi said she has been staying with a friend in Granger for the time being.

The Southwest Michigan Chapter of Red Cross also responded to the fire about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. They set up shop in the North Niles Villa office, where they offered residents assistance with immediate needs including food, water and shelter, according to Red Cross spokesperson Thomas Westgate. Mental health nurses were also available to those who needed them.

Red Cross remained on the scene until noon Wednesday. Residents in need of Red Cross assistance can contact the organization by calling, 1-800-Red Cross.

Lamb said the building uninhabitable. Though the structure was intact, besides the attic, he said the building sustained smoke and water damage throughout.

Lamb commended the teamwork of the responding units who provided mutual aid to Niles City firefighters, responding units outside the city included Niles Township, Buchanan City, Edwardsburg, Dowagiac, Howard Township, Eau Claire, Berrien Springs and Clay, in Indiana. The Niles Police Department and SMCAS also responded to the scene.

“We had adequate staffing [and caught the fire] very early on thanks to our mutual aid system,” Lamb said.