MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Residents were evacuated early Tuesday morning from their high-rise apartment building in northeast Miami-Dade after a large fire erupted inside one of the units, first responders confirmed.

According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials, the fire was reported just after 3:30 a.m. at 800 NE 195th St.

Firefighters arrived at the scene to find heavy flames and smoke coming from the balcony of a fourth floor unit.

The balcony right above that unit was also heavily damaged from the smoke and flames.

“The alarm went off and I thought it was a false alarm,” resident Dea Gallira said. “I didn’t think it was real. I stayed in bed. I didn’t bother getting up until I finally got up and opened the door to the hallway. There was all this smoke and I could smell the fire, so I tried to grab what I could and I just said ‘screw it,’ and I just ran and grabbed all my stuff and I just ran out.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the unit where the fire occurred was a total loss.

“We had to evacuate most of the floors,” MDFR Operations Division Chief Michael Eng said. “This was a second alarm fire. And the concern now that the fire is out is the degree of smoke and carbon monoxide in the building. So we have to absolutely make sure we can check that before we can allow people back in.”

People who live in the affected unit were seen sitting outside the building while they awaited word from firefighters.

Authorities investigate after large fire erupts inside northeast Miami-Dade apartment unit Residents were evacuated early Tuesday morning from their high-rise apartment building in northeast Miami-Dade after a fire erupted inside one of the units.

Resident Layda Soto said the alarm woke everyone up just in time.

“Everybody get together in the hallway and go down to the stairs,” Soto said. “Coming down, my leg was shaking.”

Jacob and Ethan, two other residents, said they acted fast once they realized what was happening.

“Yeah, I wake up, I just go outside, I smell the smoke. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the real deal,’ and I grab my brother and we get out of here,” Jacob said.

Crews were able to put the fire out just before 5 a.m., and firefighters confirmed that everyone made it out safely.

“Everybody is nervous, you know, in that moment you don’t know if somebody was inside or not,” Soto said.

MDFR officials later confirmed that there was “significant smoke throughout the building,” but no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Officials said the Red Cross is assisting the residents displaced by the fire.