There were no reports of injuries in a five-alarm fire that erupted in a Banksville apartment complex Thursday night.
The fire started about 10:30 p.m. in a 24-unit, three-story building along Oakville Drive in the Hyland Hills Apartments.
When Pittsburgh firefighters arrived, flames already had engulfed most of the roof of the building.
Residents said neighbors ran from apartment to apartment alerting everyone to the danger.
"We heard yelling and people screaming, 'There's a fire!' There was chaos," said Spencer McHargh, who was visiting a friend, Crystal Conti.
"We didn't hear any fire alarms or smoke detectors, just people screaming," Conti said, clutching her pet dog.
One couple said they and others smelled smoke earlier in the evening, but thought it was from neighbors barbecuing outside.
"About six or seven neighbors smelled smoke, but nobody could locate anything," resident Shane Tanouye said. "People are outside smoking and barbecuing because it was a nice summer night.
"About 10:20 p.m., people began running through the building knocking on doors and telling everybody to get out."
An hour after the alarm, parts of the roof and several third-floor apartments were still ablaze.
Several city police officers said they were heartened to see a sign reading, "Save Our Police," hanging on the rear of truck No. 21.
City and Allegheny County arson investigators are trying to determine what started the fire.
