Downtown Sacramento fire forces window rescue, sends 2 firefighters to hospital

Two firefighters were hospitalized and a woman was rescued from a second floor as crews battled a large fire at a downtown Sacramento building early Thursday.

The fire was reported just after 4 a.m. at the Porter Building at 918 8th St., near J Street.

Crews arrived to find heavy fire coming from the building, which houses several businesses.

A woman working on the second floor said she smelled smoke before firefighters arrived and helped her escape through a window.

"There was no other way out of the building at that time," she said.

Two firefighters were later taken to the hospital with heat exhaustion. Their injuries were not believed to be serious.

Crews searched the building after knocking down the fire and found no one else injured.

The fire also affected light rail service through the area. J Street was blocked at Seventh Street, while 8th Street was closed between I and J streets.

It was not immediately clear how badly the businesses inside were damaged or what caused the fire.