The call came in just after noon. Crews arrived to the apartment building located on the corner of 11th Street and Main Street and saw smoke pouring from the building.
Dubuque Fire Chief, Rick Steins, said the fire began on the first floor. However, smoke rose up the stairwell and across the third floor, trapping some of the people inside.
"One person had gotten out from a window in the back and went on to a lower roof on a building next door," said Steins. "There were also some people on the third floor towards the front of the building on Main Street that had smoke in their apartment and couldn't exit and went to the window."
Three people were taken to local hospitals for smoke inhalation.