By KEITH UPCHURCH

kupchurch@heraldsun.com; 419-6612

DURHAM -- Fire damaged 10 apartments of a 20-unit building at Royal Oaks complex off Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard and injured a firefighter Thursday morning, an apartment manager and fire officials said.

Tina Sparrow, assistant manager at the complex, said the fire was at 3545 Mayfair St., Building 10.

It displaced a dozen occupants -- about half of the building's residents, she said.

No occupants were injured, but a Durham firefighter was, according to Sierra Jackson, public affairs specialist with the Durham Fire Department. Assistant Fire Chief Dan Curia said the firefighter twisted his knee but was not hospitalized and probably won't lose any time at work.

The fire started about 6 a.m. and crews spent about three hours at the scene, Jackson said. The apartment suffered "significant water, fire, and smoke damage,'' she said.

Curia said the fire apparently started in the basement, but its cause remained under investigation Thursday evening.

When firefighters arrived, heavy flames were shooting from the first floor and spread throughout the building.

Annette McCall, who lived by herself in Apt. 203, said she wasn't sure how much of her property was damaged. "All I know is that I just heard the smoke alarm and then I heard people running,'' she said. "I opened the door and seen the hall full of smoke. And I ran with everybody else.''

Another resident, Lakesha Gray, who lived in a basement unit, said she heard the fire alarm and ''thought it was just a prank or something. So I kept looking out the peephole, because I thought somebody might be trying to knock me in the head or something. So then when I went outside and came around the side of the building, I seen all the smoke pouring out in the front. So that's when I went back in and put on some shoes and just went outside.''

Gray said none of her property was damaged, ''so I'm fortunate.''

The Red Cross will provide lodging for the displaced resident for two nights, after which Royal Oaks management hopes to have other apartments ready for them to move into.

Royal Oaks suffered a fire last month at another building. That blaze burned an apartment building at 3536 Mayfair St. and displaced six families temporarily. They moved back into different units at the complex a few days later.

Fire officials said that fire has been ruled arson.