Residents of a Greece apartment complex damaged by a fire Thursday night are working to salvage what is left of their belongings.

Fire broke out at the Pond View Heights Apartments off Long Pong Road around 7 p.m. Thursday.

Two Greece police officers responding to a different call at the complex smelled smoke and noticed a fire inside one of the garages. The officers were able to help get three families, a total of five people, out of the burning apartments safely.

Kristy Gangarossa has only lived in her apartment for three months with her roommate. She says police officers acted quickly to alert residents of the fire.

"I wasn't home; I was out to dinner with my kids, got the call from my roommate. They wouldn't even let us up here; we were stuck back at the street. I had to walk up here just to see what was going on. Police officers and everybody were really helpful though. The Red Cross was here and they helped a lot too,” said Gangarossa. "He didn't' even know anything was going on. They knocked on the door, pulled him out, and he said when his feet hit the grass over there that the car exploded. The police officers I guess came and knocked on the door, told them that there was a fire. No one even called them."

Kristy says she considers the firefighters heroes for risking their lives and says the outcome could have been much worse. Kristy did not have renter's insurance and lost everything in the fire. She plans on moving in with her mother for awhile.

Firefighters say it took about an hour to get the fire under control. They are still working to determine an exact cause.

The Red Cross is assisting the families displaced by the fire.