AUBURN -- Auburn fire officials say there are lessons to be learned from a near-tragedy Monday morning. At about 7:00 a.m. a furnace caught fire at an apartment building at 28 Washington Street. Two families were home at the time, including one couple with two young children.

Assistant Fire Chief Albert Mendillo says had the fire occured several hours earlier while everyone was asleep, seven people could have been killed. Resident April Brown told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon she smelled smoke, but thought it was a neighbor's wood-burning stove. Brown says it wasn't until fire trucks arrived that she realized the house was on fire.

Mendillo said there were no working smoke detectors in the first floor apartment where the children lived. As it turned out, everyone escaped.

Though firefighters were able to quickly douse the flames, the building has been declared "unfit for human habitation" by the Auburn Codes Inspection Department. The Red Cross is helping both families find temporary housing.

Auburn Fire Chief Mike Hammon says the incident points up the need for people to have their furnaces inspected before cold weather sets in. Hammon urges homeowners to make sure their fire detectors and their batteries are in working order.

For more tips about fire safety,  Hammon recommends you visit the website of the Office of Fire Prevention and Control.