COLUMBUS, Ohio – An elderly man was listed in critical condition, one of two people hospitalized after fire broke out early this morning in a three-story West Side apartment building.

The 76-year-old man was taken to OSU Medical Center with burns to the upper third of his body and a 33-year-old woman was transported to Mt. Carmel West Hospital with smoke inhalation following the fire, which was reported at 3:07 a.m., at 1440 West Rich Street, said Battalion Chief Patrick Ferguson, Public Information Officers for the Columbus Division of Fire.

When firefighters arrived, Ferguson says they found one apartment and the connecting hallway “heavily involved with fire.”

Several residents of the building, which held more than 25 apartments had to be evacuated and the Red Cross and the apartment building managers were trying to find them shelter, Ferguson said.

The Fire and Bomb Investigations Unit was called to investigative, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Ferguson say.

The building sustained an estimated $100,000.00 dollars in damages, Ferguson said.