LEWISTON – An apartment house fire broke out at midday Friday, driving more than a dozen people from their homes.

No serious injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

The Sun Journal newspaper reported that Terry Powell, who had been visiting her mother across the street, said she ran into the building as soon as she heard a siren and saw smoke.

She said she helped rescue a mother and three children in a third-floor apartment and when the stairwell became blocked with smoke, the group escaped out a second-floor window onto a porch roof.

“I flung myself out the window and caught a breath of air, [and thought] ‘Yes! I’m going to make it,”‘ Powell said.