WEST CHESTER, Ohio  — A fire broke out overnight at an apartment complex in West Chester.

The fire started around 1 a.m. Sunday at the Highlands of West Chester on Fountains Boulevard. When firefighters with West Chester Fire Department responded, the assistant fire chief said the fire was located on the second floor and flames were extending into the roof.

Initially, there were reports a man was trapped inside the building. Fire crews went to rescue him, but firefighters said the man walked out on his own. He refused medical attention.

More crews from other fire departments were called in to help battle the blaze.

At least two units were damaged in the fire, but it is currently unclear how many people are displaced.

"I don't have an estimate on damage. There are 8 units in the building that is involved at least two units are involved in actually fire damage," West Chester Assistant Fire Chief David Pickering said.

Pickering said crews are assessing the other units to make sure they are safe before residents can return home.

No firefighters were injured.

The Butler County Fire Investigation is still working to figure out how the fire started.

This is a developing story and will be updated when more information becomes available.

NEW YORK — Families are suing the owners of an apartment building in the Bronx after 17 people died in a fire.

The five lawsuits named Bronx Park Phase III Preservation, the Bronx Phase III Housing Co., and three investment groups as defendants.

The suits allege that safety violations led to the tragedy.

Fire officials said a malfunctioning space heater started the blaze on January 9.

The fire produced suffocating smoke that rose through a stairwell and killed people as they tried to flee.

Lawyers with the New York law firm Weitz & Luxenberg said owners of the building did not follow rules for self-closing doors and windows that can stay open.

Attorneys added that residents of the apartment where the fire started left their front door open.

Spring-loaded hinges were supposed to shut the door automatically, but they did not work.

Fire investigators said that the apartment’s front door and a door on the 15th floor should have been self-closing to help contain the spreading smoke, but that the doors stayed fully open.

It was not clear if the doors failed mechanically or if they had been manually disabled

The lawsuit did not specify details about monetary damages and did not cite specific safety violations.

Another attorney, Larry Goldhirsch, said specifics will be announced in the coming weeks.

A spokesperson for the building’s owners denies they were responsible.

More than a dozen people, their pets and a wedding dress were all rescued from an apartment complex building fire on Friday.

A fire department in Wisconsin was called around 5:15 a.m. Friday morning.

The single apartment building on fire in the large apartment complex property housed eight units and 15 people inside.

No injuries were reported.

Chief Peter Jaskulski of the Hales Corners Fire Department in Wisconsin said one of his off-duty firefighters lives in the apartment building next to the one that caught fire. Jaskulski said the firefighter's dog woke him up, and when he let the dog out, he smelled smoke and discovered the fire. Jaskulski said the firefighter banged on all the doors in the building to wake people up.

Jaskulski said a woman inside the building, who nearly lost her wedding dress to the flames, pulled the building fire alarm.

Jaskulski said police also made sure everyone was out.

Fire crews contained the fire, but by the time it was out, the building and all the homes inside it were a total loss.

Multiple fire departments were called to help with the blaze.

After the fire was out, Milwaukee fire crews performed a sweep of the building and discovered a wedding dress in one of the units. They pulled it out.

"When you see something, and you see something of that much value, you make a decision and they made the right decision to pull that out," Jaskulski said.

The Milwaukee fire crew gave the dress to a neighbor, who reunited the dress with its bride. The moment was caught on camera.

Jaskulski said he talked at length with the woman who owned the wedding dress.

"This was a young couple that was going to get married in April and because of COVID-19 had postponed it. They didn't have a big ceremony, but they got married in a smaller ceremony and they hadn't decided what to do yet," Jaskulski said.

"Later on, I talked to her. She was holding the dress, she was with her husband, it was actually a really beautiful dress," Jaskulski said. "I said, 'You gotta get it dry cleaned.' She had tears in her eyes, she said, 'Somebody has offered to take care of that for me already.'"

Sister station WISN 12 News crews followed up with the apartment complex later on and found the business office filled with donations from the community.

Clothes, food, stuffed animals and more were all donated to help the families displaced by the early morning fire.

The apartment complex manager said they did not ask for donations, people just started bringing them in.

Jaskulski said the fire started outside on the second floor. He said it was not caused by any candles or grills, did not appear to be suspicious and did not appear to be caused by neglect.

He said the official cause of the fire is still under investigation, but he believes it likely had something to do with utilities located outside on the second floor.