Fire broke out shortly before dawn Monday at a 14-unit condominium building in Bloomington, forcing people from their homes and requiring one resident to be hospitalized, authorities said.

Among the 20 or so people who fled the flames and smoke in the 8700 block of Aldrich Avenue S. was a woman who needed assistance from fire personnel to make it safely from a second-story balcony, said Deputy Police Chief Mike Hartley.

Once the fire was put out, some residents on one end of the building were allowed to return and retrieve possessions, Hartley said.

There is no initial indication of how the fire started, the deputy chief added.

One person was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center needing treatment for smoke inhalation and "possible burns," said Fire Chief Ulysses Seal. There was no immediate word on that person's condition.

Seal added that the 14 units are "all uninhabitable."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482