ELLWOOD CITY - One person was treated for inhaling smoke and one person had to be rescued from a roof as the result of a fire early Wednesday in a North Street building.

Ellwood City Fire Chief Connie MacDonald said five people were in the building, which houses two businesses and six apartments, when a fire broke out in the stairwell of 303 North St. just after midnight.

MacDonald said one of the residents called 911 after seeing smoke in the stairwell. Another resident went onto the three-story building's roof to escape the flames.

By the time firefighters arrived a few minutes later, police officers were extinguishing the small fire in the stairwell. MacDonald estimated the damage at less than $500. Firefighters from Wurtemburg-Perry, and Franklin and Wayne townships were on call as backup for the fire, but their assistance wasn't necessary.

None of the apartments was damaged, although firefighters remained on site until just before 3 a.m. to remove smoke from residents' rooms.

The two businesses in the building, Snyder Saw Service and a beauty shop, were not damaged. One person was taken to Ellwood City Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, MacDonald said, but the person was not identified.

MacDonald said things could have been much worse. The building has a smoke alarm, but the battery had been removed and apartment residents weren't alerted to the threat.

"In this case, it didn't cause a problem, but we urge people to check their smoke alarms regularly," MacDonald said.

The fire chief said the fire is still under investigation and a ruling on cause has not been made.

Eric Poole can be reached online at epoole@ellwoodcityledger.com.