One person was critically injured with burns and four or five suffered smoke inhalation in a fire Friday night in Westbrook, authorities said.

Two families were forced from their homes when the three-alarm fire broke out about 10 p.m. in the multi-family building at 94 Pierce St.

Firefighters fight the blaze Friday night at a multi-unit home on Pierce Street in Westbrook. Edward D. Murphy photo

Firefighters and police said the building at 94 Pierce St. in Westbrook appeared to be a total loss after the fire Friday night. Edward D. Murphy photo

Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte said that an official from the state Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene, and that the cause of the fire had not been determined.

Police said a total of about a dozen people were in the building at 94 Pierce St. and were evacuated.

A neighbor, David Bonaparte, said he saw two or three people taken away in ambulances and was told they were suffering from smoke inhalation. Several children were among the people in the house, he said. He said the children appeared to get out safely.

Firefighters and police said the building appeared to be a total loss.

The fire was first reported shortly before 10 p.m. Shortly after 11 p.m., smoke was still coming from the building, but no flames were visible.

Thirteen people were in the house when the fire started, said Ghassal Abdullah, who lives on the top floor with her family of six. They had two uncles and a friend visiting Friday night.

Downstairs, she said, were a mother and her son, and they also had two visitors Friday night.

Abdullah said she saw smoke coming from downstairs and called to her family members to get out. One uncle, who was taking a bath, ended up jumping from a second-story window and may have suffered an arm injury, she said.

She said her grandmother suffered smoke inhalation.

She said she didn’t know of anyone else who was injured, and didn’t know how the fire started.

She said her apartment had smoke alarms but she didn’t hear them sound.

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