Seven people, including several children, were forced out of their homes after a two-alarm fire ripped through a north Charlotte apartment complex Wednesday night.

No one was injured, officials said.

Firefighters said eight units at the Somerset Apartments were affected by the fire and smoke. Three of the units were so badly damaged that the residents will have to find somewhere else to stay for the night.

Witnesses said they smelled thick smoke coming from an empty apartment unit. Neighbors said resident who lived in the unit was still at work when the fire broke out.

Witnesses said smoke poured out of the windows and air ducts. Another witness saw flames.

“They cut the whole roof off of my bedroom and my son's bedroom. You don't know how much I cried when that fire started. It was ridiculous, because I don't have nowhere to go. I have no family here,” said Yolanda Graham, one of the residents who was forced from her home.

Graham and her two children moved to Charlotte two months ago.

"Everybody was saying it's all material," she said. "But you don't know how it feels when you have all your stuff burning up before your eyes."

Fire investigators worked late into the night to determine the cause of the fire.

The Red Cross worked with families at the north Charlotte apartment complex who needed to find a place to stay.