MARSHALL — The Marshall Fire Department rescued an unconscious person from a smoke-filled apartment during a fire call Sunday night.

Marshall Fire Chief Quentin Brunsvold said a total of two people were transported to Avera Marshall Medical Center for treatment.

The fire department received an emergency page for an apartment fire on the 400 block of Village Drive around 8:53 p.m. Sunday, Brunsvold said. There were reports of smoke on the third floor of the building, he said.

“The challenge on this was the size of the building,” Brunsvold said.

Fire crews weren’t sure what to expect when they arrived at the scene. However, a tenant of the building was able to direct responders to an apartment on the third floor of the building.

The apartment was locked, and firefighters had to make a forced entry, Brunsvold said. The apartment was full of smoke, he said. Firefighters were able to get water on a fire in the apartment’s kitchen. They also located an occupant of the apartment, who was unconscious, Brunsvold said.

The fire department brought the occupant to emergency medical services, and she was transported to Avera Marshall for treatment, Brunsvold said. Another tenant in the apartment building was also brought to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Brunsvold said the fire damaged the apartment kitchen, and there was also water damage to neighboring apartments. The Red Cross was called in to help a few tenants find temporary housing after the fire, he said.

Marshall Police, North Memorial Ambulance, and the Ghent Fire Department all responded at the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Marshall Fire Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

“We have a lot to be proud of with our fire department,” Brunsvold said of the response Sunday night.

Firefighters were on the scene early enough to keep the fire from spreading to other areas of the apartment building, and were able to help the occupant of the apartment.

At the same time, safety measures like fire doors in the apartment building were functioning properly. That meant tenants could wait in a shelter area of the building, without having to go out into sub-zero temperatures, he said.

Brunsvold said the fire department had an especially fast response time because they were already assisting with another incident on Sunday night.

When the page for the fire on Village Drive went out, firefighters were responding to an alarm for a broken water pipe at a different apartment building on the 100 block of South Fifth Street.