More than a dozen firefighters were sent to the hospital with smoke inhalation after a fire ripped through a home on Alexander Avenue early Friday morning.

According to fire officials, at around midnight a resident of the house came downstairs to discover flames engulfing the room. Since there was no smoke alarm installed at the residence, the people did not have a chance to escape before the blaze got out of control.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they saw an adult and two teenagers trapped on a fire escape, surrounded by flames that were bursting out of every window.

Firefighters managed to douse the flames enough to rescue the victims, who were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Eighteen firefighters also suffered smoke inhalation and exhaustion. One firefighter had his finger crushed during the rescue when the adult who was trapped on the fire escape jumped on a ladder.

Fire officials say the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.