VIDEO: Hundreds of people are now without a home after a massive blaze destroyed a Fort Lee apartment building. The fire was first reported just after 4 p.m. Thursday at the Linwood apartment complex on Edwin Avenue. Officials say that the fire first started in the basement of the building, which housed the building’s boiler and garbage area. But that fire quickly spread and consumed the building’s five floors. Tenants tell News 12 New Jersey that the smoke alarms were going off inside the building, so all residents were able to escape without injury. Firefighters were forced to go up on some of the fire escapes to bring some of the people down safely. The fire became so intense that around 6:30 p.m. all crew members were ordered to evacuate from the building and fight it from the outside. The roof of the building collapsed not long after. The Linwood Apartment Complex is made up of two buildings separated by a firewall.