FITCHBURG - Residents stood in disbelief in the parking lot of their charred apartment building today, the bright blue water of an adjacent swimming pool a jarring contrast.

The roof of the Fitchburg Spring Apartments, 3321 Leopold Way, was caved in on several of the second story apartments and the smell of smoke remained heavy following the late-night blaze at the 26-unit apartment building.

Water and smoke damage likely damaged or destroyed much of the rest of the building.

No one was injured in the blaze, which took at least an hour to get under control and was still burning as of 3 a.m. Saturday.

Lt. Robert Rittenhouse with the Fitchburg Fire Department estimated the damage from the fire at $3.3 million. He said  Saturday that the fire was started by a hot charcoal grill that was placed in an outside storage shed off the main deck of the second floor.

Rittenhouse said residents in a neighboring apartment told firefighters that they were arriving home from fireworks when they heard an explosion and turned to see flames on the balcony of a second floor apartment.

One resident called 911 and another started alerting residents in the building. The first fire truck arrived eight minutes later, Rittenhouse said.

The design of the apartment building roof and the rapid spread  of the fire hindered firefighters' efforts to extinguish the blaze, he said. Help was called in from fire departments in the town of Madison, Verona, Oregon, Shorewood Hills and Monona.

"It was a little after midnight and somebody came banging on our door,'' said Darrell Reynolds, 52, a resident on the ground floor of the burned apartment building. "They were yelling 'It's a fire! It's a fire! It's not a false alarm!' I grabbed my shoes and got out.''

Reynolds, who is blind, said he is worried about where he will live. "I don't know where we're going to go,'' Reynolds said. "We have no money.''

Dan Kehoe, a volunteer with the Badger Chapter of the American Red Cross, said about 40 people have been affected by the fire. Most, he added, do not have renter's insurance.

He said Gorman Company, which owns and manages the apartment building, is paying for displaced renters to stay two nights in the Candlewood Suites hotel. Because of that, Kehoe added, the Red Cross did not open a shelter.

Kehoe said a service center will be opened at 1 p.m. in nearby Aldo Leopold Elementary School, 2602 Post  Rd. The center will be open until 5 p.m., he added. He said the needs of individuals and families displaced by the fire will be assessed and vouchers will be provided to cover lodging, food, clothing, transportation, supplies and counseling.

"It's a pretty devastating blow to come home and find your apartment building completely gone,'' said Kehoe.

Kehoe said the local Red Cross, already stretched thin because of recent flooding, is encouraging people to help with contributions if they can.

"Nobody is going to end up on the street,'' Kehoe said. "We'll go into the red if we have to to help everyone.''

If you want to help victims of the Leopold Way apartment fire, contributions may be sent to the local American Red Cross Badger Chapter, 4860 Sheboygan Av., Madison, Wis  53705.