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Dozens of senior citizens went scrambling for their lives when their southeast Houston apartment complex caught fire Saturday morning.

A two-alarm blaze broke out at the Beall Village apartments in the 4400 block of North MacGregor, destroying one unit completely and damaging two others. 

“It just knock the door and they say fire and there was a lot of smoke in the hall,” resident Miguel Santiago said.

The smoke came from a first floor unit where a fire had erupted, and that made escaping nearly impossible for the dozens of elderly tenants.

“It was horrible trying to go down those steps without any light,” resident Parthenia Bland said.

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Firefighters treat an elderly victim of an apartment fire.

It was even worse for those with more limited mobility. 

Lucius Randall was grateful his 93-year-old great aunt made it out alive.  She was rescued by a firefighter who carried her out of her unit. 

“The fire extinguishing was the easiest part of this one.  The rescue and taking care of the people was harder,” HFD District Chief Tommy Dowdy said.

“I didn’t know what was happening until the fireman told me,” resident Olivia Green said.

Firefighters rescued dozens of residents, many in walkers in wheelchairs or with pets in tow. 

And 88-year-old woman who lived in the unit that caught fire was rushed to the hospital for smoke inhalation. 

Paramedics also treated two people on the scene.

“I mean, we were all scared you just don’t know … It’s hard.  You just get out as soon as you can,” resident Laverne Staples said.

The HFD said about 40 elderly residents were displaced because of the blaze.

Apartment management said it is hoping to move these residents back into their units or into other ones. 

Firefighters called a Metro bus to the scene so the seniors could have a place to sit and rest while they worked. 

Though I the end, they chose to huddle in the cafeteria, thankful and knowing it could have been much worse.