A massive fire engulfed a four-story apartment complex in Edgewater, N.J. Wednesday leaving hundreds without a home. Edgewater Mayor Michael McPartland stated that the midrise contained 240 apartments and up to 500 residents were displaced, according to CNN.

The fire began around 4:30 p.m. at The Avalon at Edgewater, nearly 10 miles north of New York City. The flames were shot so high that they could be seen from across the Hudson river in Manhattan. The building soon became engulfed in flames forcing residents to evacuate. They were taken to a nearby school.

More than 200 firefighters battled tough winds and cold temperatures while attempting to extinguish the flames. Police said they were still working to put out the fire after 11 p.m.

Spokesman for AvalonBay Communities Edmund Rhoads said that residents were warned quickly to evacuate via email. Some residents were relocated to a community center later where they planned to stay the night and were provided with food and water. He said that the Red Cross had been involved in the move.

McPartland said in a news conference that the fire burned slowly at first, then it heated up. No deaths or serious injuries were reported Wednesday. Two firefighters and two residents suffered minor injuries, but no one was reported missing. However, McPartland said that some pets did not make it through the fire.

One resident who had to evacuate his home was New York Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling. He had lived in the building for nearly 10 years. He arrived at his home at 5 p.m. and smelled smoke, but he still went up to his apartment on the fourth floor.

Sterling said in a telephone interview with the New York Times that he opened the hallway door and suddenly his vision was blurred. “The smoke was so bad,” he said. Sterling expressed that he was worried his apartment was gone and that he would have to “start all over,” but he was also grateful that there had been no deaths.

Several residents were not home when the fire started around 4:30 p.m., but many found themselves eventually trapped in it. Edgewater Fire Chief Tom Jacobson said that they dealt with “multiple rescues on different floors,” including some stuck on balconies, because the smoke had traveled through the building quickly.

Wednesday night, McPartland declared a local state of emergency. He said that schools would be closed Thursday and roads would be restricted unitl further notice.

McPartland said that the community felt “fortunate and thankful” for the responders who helped residents evacuate, and he expressed his grief for everyone affected by the fire in a press conference Thursday morning. He also announced that the fire had been contained and it is under control.

Police are still investigating the cause of the fire. Jacobson said that the cause is “not suspicious right now.”

The same site, where a $70 millon five-story condominium complex called Avalon River Mews was under construction, experienced a major fire in August 2000. The fire also destroyed 12 cars and nine homes, and it damaged several other homes. There were also no serious injuries in that fire, but officials had trouble distinguishing it because there was a ruptured gas line in the middle of the complex feeding the fire. The cause of the fire was never determined, but arson was ruled out by investigators.