LEWISTON — Fire officials say improper disposal of smoking material caused an afternoon blaze in an apartment at 2 Granite St., west of Central Maine Medical Center on Wednesday.

No one was hurt in the blaze.

The fire was reported at about 5:20 p.m., with smoke rolling out of windows on the second floor.

The eight-unit building was evacuated. Only five of the units were occupied, one tenant said.

Twenty minutes after they arrived, firefighters declared the fire was under control.

Luther Rollins, a tenant on the first floor, said he smelled smoke and noticed it coming from the second floor. He raced up the fire escape to a porch and spotted flames on the threshold of a screen door.

“I told my old lady, ‘Get some water!'” Rollins said. “I threw some water on it, but smoke was still coming out of the walls.”

Fire investigator Paul Ouellette said the fire started in a second-floor, front apartment, originating near the porch entrance door. Damage to the porch and apartment was estimated at $20,000.