A fire was raging Monday afternoon at a Beggars Pizza restaurant in the south Chicago suburb of Blue Island.

The fire broke out at the Beggars Pizza location at 12700 S. Kedzie Ave.

A pillar of flames was seen shooting through the roof just before 5 p.m. Flames were no longer visible a few minutes later, but robust smoke was still billowing.

Firefighters were opening up the roof with saws for better access and ventilation. Multiple fire companies were also inside spraying down the building with hand lines.

Fire rigs were parked along 127th Street near Kedzie Avenue.

The building that houses the Beggars Pizza location also houses apartments, and residents were told to leave.

"I just came from out of town, came home and found out that my house is on fire. We live upstairs from the business. We have no idea where we're going to go tonight — me and my neighbors. There's four of us that live up there, and we don't know what's going to happen."

A manager noticed flames coming from the pizza ovens, and ran upstairs to tell apartment residents in the building to get out at once. The manager was hailed as a hero Monday night.

One of the tenants living in the building grabbed his cat on the way out.

The building at minimum sustained smoke and water damage, but the extent of damage to the interior was not immediately learned. It was too soon to place a cause and origin, and there were no injuries.

The Kedzie Avenue Beggars Pizza location is one of two in Blue Island. The other is at 12660 S. Western Ave. exactly a mile east.