Firefighters were called to the 3200-block of West Augusta Boulevard at about 3:16 a.m. The fire started in a three-story apartment building and then spread to two apartment buildings next door.
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The fire originated in the rear of the building and fire officials said firefighters had trouble getting their vehicles into the back alley and had to manually take their lines back to fight the fire. Shortly before 4 a.m., the fire was struck.
Three people suffered minor smoke inhalation and were transported to hospitals. A firefighter suffering from nausea was also transported to a hospital. All are expected to be OK.
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The fire displaced 20 people and one family's dog was killed.
Juan lives in the building and rushed to save his family from the fire.
"All you can do is grab your kids and run out," he said. "We couldn't see anything because the stairs were all full of smoke. Nothing really I can say. Any families out there, hold onto your kids and grab them. That's all you can do is grab your kids and run."
The cause of the fire is not known. Firefighters said they believe there were working smoking detectors in the building.