AUBURN — Several people fled their homes Monday night after smoke filled a first-floor apartment on High Street.

It was believed that one man was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation while another was being treated for a burned hand following the 9:30 p.m. blaze at 46 High St.

Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from an apartment on the first floor at the rear of the three-story building. When firefighters arrived, they made quick work of the fire but then reported that the first floor was filled with smoke.

A short time later, firefighters found a man inside the apartment where the fire began. Witnesses said that man was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a Lewiston hospital. A second man suffered burns to a hand after he rushed into the building to retrieve a dog, neighbors said. He was being treated at the scene.

It was not immediately clear what started the blaze.

Several people who live in or near the building said a man had fallen asleep with a cigarette, although that could not be confirmed.

Tenants, many of them in pajamas and many with dogs, gathered in the parking lot of High Street Congregational Church, across the street from the fire scene. It was believed that those tenants would be able to return to their homes once smoke was cleared from the building.

Tenants said the building is owned by Archie Morrissette, who was called to the scene.