Shikina Chenault awoke early Friday to her apartment full of smoke and her neighbors pounding on her window, shouting for her to get out.

She woke up her kids and tried to go out the front door, but the hallway was ablaze, she said. So they ran outside through the back door, leaving behind their clothes, all their belongings, and their pet hamster to the flames.

“We left everything in there,” Ms. Chenault said.

Hers was one of several apartments damaged by a large fire reported early Friday morning at Woodlands Apartments in the 2400 block of Cheyenne Boulevard. Crews from Toledo Fire & Rescue Department battled the blaze and worked to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the building, said Pvt. Sterling Rahe, department spokesman. The fire was brought under control about 5:50 a.m.

Five people were injured — one by jumping from a balcony to escape the fire, Private Rahe said.

According to the American Red Cross, 24 apartment units were affected and about 85 people, including children, were displaced.

Every resident has been accounted for, Private Rahe said.

Upon arrival, firefighters reported heavy fire through the roof, he said. Additional units were requested, upgrading the fire to a second alarm.

“The complex is a challenging complex to get water to,” he said.

WATCH: Pvt. Sterling Rahe provides information on Woodland Apartment fire

Fire hoses snaked through the parking lots to the far side of the complex, where the fire occurred. Displaced residents stood outside and watched the fire, spoke to investigators, and met with representatives from the Red Cross who set up a temporary shelter at the Wolf Creek YMCA.

Marvin Whitfield, Direct Client Service Lead with the Red Cross, said a TARTA bus was provided to transport displaced residents to the temporary shelter. The shelter will operate as long as necessary.

“We’re going to have counselors out there to assist with any needs,” he said.

Suzy Lowery, head of logistics for the Red Cross, said Woodlands was also placing residents affected by the fire into empty apartment units.

Representatives for the apartment complex could not be reached for comment.

WATCH: Woodland Apartment resident describes the fire

Four people died in a large fire Jan. 15, 2017 in another building at the same apartment complex: Sharell Crisp, 28, Antoinette Brown, 31, Ahmard Brown, 5, and Richard Fair, 46. Investigators later said that fire’s cause could not be determined because too much was destroyed.

That 12-unit structure is to be torn down, but as of Friday its ruins — boarded up and surrounded by a fence with Keep Out signs — still stood across a parking lot from the building that caught fire Friday.

Aaron Dauer, a resident who was evacuated during Friday’s fire, said he was living in the same complex when the 2017 fire occurred and knew the people who died. He had trouble sleeping for more than a year afterward.

“I couldn’t even go back to my bedroom,” he said.

On Friday, he awoke to someone pounding on his door. At first, he thought someone was trying to break in. But it was the firefighters telling him to get out. He couldn’t open his front door because the lock was jammed, so he said firefighters had to break down the door.

Mr. Dauer was one of the last people out, he said, at about 5:20 a.m.

He and several other residents said they’ve experienced electrical problems in their apartments, such as sparking power outlets. Alicia Levesque, who also awoke to an apartment full of smoke, said she thought the entire complex needed to be shut down while an electrician assessed the wiring.

“Just because we’re low income doesn’t mean we have to live like this,” she said. “I go to other people’s houses and don’t get zapped.”

Private Rahe said fire officials have not determined the fire’s cause.

Ms. Chenault said she is grateful she and her family are safe.

“I’m just glad we got out,” she said. “We could have been dead.”

Contact Kate Snyder at ksnyder@theblade.com, 419-724-6282 or on Twitter @KL_Snyder

First Published September 21, 2018, 8:32 p.m.