There were no reports of injuries, and all tenants – some assisted by city firefighters – safely made it out of the three-story 27-unit apartment building at 124 Brandon Place, just off Washington Boulevard.

All the tenants headed for an exit as soon as they heard the fire alarms going off in the complex about 2:50 p.m.

Among those who fled the structure was first-floor tenant John Balevicz, who has lived in the building for three years.

A fire that broke out Sunday afternoon in a second-floor apartment at the Mary Slaughter Homes on Brandon Place in Williamsport was brought under control in about 15 minutes. There were no reports of injuries. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

He was on the internet when he heard the alarms. “They are always going off. I didn’t think much of it, then smoke started coming in my apartment,” he said. He had to leave behind his two cats, Maggie and Natasha, and was understably very concerned for their safety as he spoke with a reporter at the scene.

Watching smoke pouring from the apartment directly above his, he alerted a police officer to the felines in his unit.

Soon firefighters brought both the unconscious cats outside and medical personnel immediately began giving Maggie and Natasha oxygen. Once the felines were revived, which took a considerable amount of time, they were reunited with Balevicz.

Another tenant, who lived down the hall from the apartment where the fire broke out, said she too heard the alarms going off as she was reading in her living room.

“I got my shoes on and got out. There was quite a bit of smoke (in the hallway),” said the woman, a 10-year resident of the building, who declined to give her name.

Exhaust fans, shown here, were instrumental in clearing smoke from the Mary Slaughters Homes after two-alarm fire was put out on Sunday afternoon. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

“Black smoke started pouring out of the vent in my bathroom, it was really bad, and that was before the alarms were going off. I panicked,” said third-floor tenant Debra Morey, who has lived in the building just under two years.

“I was cleaning my bathroom and at first it smelled like someone was cooking,” Morey said. “I thought did someone leave something burning on the stove,” she added.

The building is owned and managed by the Lycoming County Housing Authority, according to city fire officials.

Although the fire went to two alarms, the bulk of the fire was knocked down in about 15 minutes.

“The fire was contained to one apartment on the second floor, but there was smoke damage throughout the second and third floors,” city Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Smith said. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, he added.

Arriving on the scene on Sunday, a city firefighter prepares to battle a smoky two-alarm fire at the Mary Slaughter Homes in Williamsport. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette

All the tenants will be staying at a hotel for a few days, officials said. Once the building is cleaned, most of the tenants should be able to return to their apartments, officials said. The housing authority will provide available apartments to those tenants whose displacement could be an extended period of time.

A firefighter stretches a hoseline in front of the Mary Slaughter Homes during Sunday's fire. PHILIP A. HOLMES/Sun-Gazette