An apartment building on Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers was evacuated Tuesday morning after a fire started in a first-floor kitchen.

Officials from the Yonkers Fire Department say the fire began at around 10 a.m., and although the smoke spread quickly throughout the building, the flames didn?t. They say the heavy winds could have made the fire worse.

?It is very windy,? says Chief Thomas Fitzpatrick. ?If the fire had escalated, wind certainly would have been an issue with these exposures here and it would have went to several multiple alarms.?

Five people were taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation. Officials say there were no other serious injuries.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.