It took Butler firefighters less than three minutes to arrive at the North Street apartment building Thursday afternoon and only 30 minutes to put out the flames.

Residents displaced by a fire Thursday afternoon at an apartment building on West North Street in Butler aren't letting the fire ruin their Christmas spirit.

No injuries were reported among the four tenants of the two-story, four-unit apartment building at 221 W. North St. as a result of the blaze that started around 3:20 p.m.

The building is a couple blocks away from the Butler Bureau of Fire station. Firefighters arrived at the scene less than three minutes after the fire was reported and had it under control in 30 minutes, said Chris Switala, bureau chief.

Firefighters were at the scene for an hour and a half.

He said the fire appeared to have started in an area where garbage cans were kept along the rear exterior wall and damaged the rear exterior from the basement to the attic.

Flames were coming from the basement exterior and had spread to the upper floors when firefighters arrived, he said.

The interior had minor to moderate smoke damage, but firefighters had to open some walls to make sure the fire was out, and some water damage occurred on the first floor, Switala said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.“Flame damage was mostly in the exterior of the house,” Switala said. “Everybody evacuated.”He said the American Red Cross was assisting the residents.Laura Kane and Cindy Fleischer, who live in the two second-floor apartments, said they heard smoke alarms and fled the building.Kane said she was sitting in her living room when she heard the alarm.“I looked out my window and saw flames shooting up from below,” Kane said.She said she banged on Fleischer's door and they evacuated.“We both got out of there,” Kane said.

She said the Red Cross was arranging temporary places for the residents to stay.“The big Christmas celebration was today at my mom and dad's house,” Kane said.She said she already exchanged presents with some people, but there were some gifts in her apartment.Fleischer said the fire won't dampen her Christmas even though some presents she received were probably ruined.“No because we made it out. I'm alive and my bird's alive,” she said, referring to Sam the parakeet she has owned for four years.A city firefighter went into the building and rescued the bird after she evacuated, Fleischer said.The VA Butler Healthcare Fire Department, Butler Township Volunteer Fire District and Butler Ambulance also responded to the fire.

Cindy Fleischer, who escaped a fire in her West North Street apartment building Thursday, said the fire won't dampen her Christmas spirit. She said she was grateful a firefighter went into the building and rescued her parakeet, Sam.

No injuries were reported among the four tenants of the two-story, four-unit apartment building at 221 W. North St. as a result of the blaze that started around 3:20 p.m. Thursday.