One person died in the blaze and eight people were taken to hospitals with injuries, Fire Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said. One firefighter was injured battling the blaze.
Before firefighters gained control of the blaze about 90 minutes after it began, flames were seen lapping the outside of the 50-year-old building as smoke billowed from the structure with winds clocked at 15 miles (24 km) an hour.
A resident of the building named Barbara Joiner told Reuters, "I'm a caregiver for a lady (81 years-old) in the building and they wouldn't let me get there to her. So I don't know if she's okay. I don't know what's what with her. That's my concern right now."
