A dozen people were forced out of their homes Saturday because of a fire. Several of their neighbors spent most of the day without power.

The fire started about 2:30 p.m. at an apartment on Iron Gate Lane off Albemarle Road.

One home has serious fire damage and two others have smoke damage.

“I was worried about trying to get the two young ones out. They were a little bit nervous and a little bit scared,” said neighbor Anthony Nelson.

Tawanna Holley saw flames shooting from her neighbor’s apartment.

“They guy came knocking on my door and said it’s a fire and I come running out,” she said.

Because of the heat, Battalion Chief Keith Rogers called out a second alarm to bring in extra crews.

“We have firefighters wearing 50 to 60 pounds of gear, and on a hot, humid day going into a burning building, that certainly taxes firefighters physically,” Rogers said.

In all, 45 firefighters helped put out the fire so others could take breaks and get checked by paramedics.

The Red Cross is helping five other neighbors in the building whose power was cut off due to the fire. It is not clear when power will be restored.