At least 20 people have been left homeless by a Saturday morning fire that ripped through an apartment building in Port Chester.

The blaze started at around 2 a.m. in a housing complex on Fox Island Road.

Judy Chavez, a tenant at the building, says a young neighbor started knocking on doors to get everyone out because smoke alarms were not working.

?The only thing I wanted was to get out, and I didn't care about clothes or anything,? Chavez says. ?It was really scary.?

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they battled fierce flames and heavy smoke to get the fire under control.

Investigators say the fire started when someone tried to throw a lit cigarette out of a window. The cigarette got caught between the window and wall, where it smoldered, eventually causing flames to erupt.

According to estimates, about 40 people lived in the building at the time of the fire. Some residents returned to the residence Saturday morning, trying to salvage their possessions.

The American Red Cross is providing the displaced families with shelter and food.