SEATTLE - Dozens of people were able to escape a fire in a Capitol Hill apartment building early Sunday.

Video: Dozens escape Seattle apartment fire

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Firefighters were called out to the Oxford Crest Apartments in the 1400 block of Boren Ave. at about 6:45 a.m.

Flames were shooting out of a second floor unit and smoke quickly spread throughout the four-story building.

"I heard glass smashing and somebody yelling 'fire' and looked out my window and that whole bottom floor was engulfed. Flames were shooting out the windows, so I started to come outside and when I hit the stairwell, it's attached to a lobby, so all the smoke was just going up the stairwells and you couldn't see anything, so I had to feel my way down to get to the side door," said resident Rusty Garner.

Firefighters needed to use a ladder to rescue at least one resident from an upper floor apartment.

"He was screaming for help. You couldn't even see him, the smoke was coming out the windows so bad," said Garner.

Three people were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters and medics also evaluated about a dozen people at the scene.

Property manager Jeff Fortier said he spoke to a woman who lives in the unit where the fire started.

"She told me that she had fallen asleep, woken up and her sofa was on fire, asked her as the origination of it, she said that she had her sofa pushed up against a space heater and the heater was on," said Fortier.

Seattle Fire officials said the fire was contained to one unit, with heavy smoke damage throughout the 2nd and 3rd floor.

The property manager said 95 people live in the building.

The King County Red Cross is helping 10 people. A shelter was set up at the Yesler Community Center.

The fire caused $250,000 in damage.