FREEPORT — William Paul thought his day couldn't end any worse Sunday night.

"I was stuck in a boat in the middle of the river," he said.

But it did get worse as he waited for a tow out of the Allegheny River.

"I got a phone call saying my apartment building was on fire," Paul said.

Paul is one of the first-floor tenants at the Seitz Apartments, where a fire broke out in a utility room about 10:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Although the fire was contained to the second-floor room, there was enough damage, mainly water, to close the three-story building.

Paul was among the six tenants waiting Monday afternoon to pick up clothing and other belongings. They were told they wouldn't be able to stay in the building for at least a week.

Kathy Gaggini was another tenant among the group let in around 1:30 p.m.

She didn't even know there was a fire in her building when it started.

"I was sleeping," she said. "I didn't even know about it until my friend called and asked me 'Are you OK?'"

After being told about the fire, Gaggini opened her door to the hallway.

"It was full of smoke," she said.

Gaggini and Paul were among the tenants still finalizing plans on where to stay while cleanup occurs.

Chief Scott Jones of the Freeport Volunteer Fire Department said another tenant, Tim Tulley, initially discovered the fire after smelling smoke and yelled to a firefighter, who was across the street at the fire station.

Firefighters called 911 to send out the official dispatch at 10:52 p.m.

Jones said the fire was doused within a half-hour using water.

Cpl. Jeff Crede, state police fire marshal, said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

No damage estimate was available Monday afternoon as insurance adjusters and building owner Geraldine Burk were in the process of determining an amount.

The owner's husband, Rene Burk, didn't know how old the building was, but did recall it originally being an opera house.

Burk said they were lucky the fire didn't do more damage, or worse, hurt someone.

About 20 are displaced by the fire. One of the 11 apartments is vacant.

The Armstrong County Chapter of the American Red Cross is helping house those needing a place to stay while repairs are made.

Karen Fair, Red Cross chapter executive, said on Monday four people already were housed in an area hotel.

Among the eight fire departments that assisted Freeport were Buffalo Township, Sarver, Saxonburg, South Buffalo Township and Kittanning stations 4 and 6. About 100 firefighters responded to the call.

After being granted access to the building, tenants inspected their apartments as the smell of smoke lingered outside.

Paul opened a window to air out the smoky smell.

Gaggini checked out her apartment.

"My place isn't bad," she said after emerging from the building lugging a bag of clothing.

Other tenants weren't as sure on what to retrieve. One man yelled out a window to a relative, "Should I bring the crockpot?"