Three families were forced out into the cold this morning after an early morning fire damaged their home.

Fire officials say flames broke out around 2:30 a.m. in the kitchen of a garden apartment on 14 Winnebago Road, just off busy Tuckahoe Road.

It took about 50 firefighters an hour and a half to get the flames under control. Firefighters not only had to battle the flames, but also the frigid temperatures. Crews told News 12 there was a great deal of clutter inside the apartment, making it almost impossible for crews to get inside.

There are a total of six apartments inside the building, and investigators say the fire started in the rear of the middle apartment near the kitchen. The whole back side of the building was burned, and families in the apartments above and below the burning unit were displaced. Luckily, there is a fire wall so the apartments on the right side of the complex suffered only smoke and water damage.

Everyone got out safely. Two people living on the top floor went to the hospital to get checked for smoke inhalation, but have since been released. The Red Cross is currently helping the families who were displaced.