Hundreds Evacuated After Fire Rips Through Apartment Building In Pennsauken

PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (CBS) -- Hundreds of residents were forced from their homes overnight after fire ripped through an apartment building in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

The flames broke out just after 12 a.m. Monday on the third floor inside the Cooper River Plaza Apartments in the 5100 block of North Park Drive.

Officials say smoke from the fire spread throughout the 14-story building and forced the evacuation of about 350 residents.

"By the time we got to the stairs, smoke was everywhere in the stairwell," said one resident. "We got down to the second floor, it was probably the heaviest. But at least we got out safe."

Residents said the fire alarms had gone off in the building recently, so they initially thought it was another false alarm.

Firefighters brought the flames under control in about 30 minutes.

No residents were injured. But one firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.