Three people were injured Monday after a fire broke out in an apartment building in the coastal city of Ashdod.

The fire was first reported at 5:41 Monday morning after the blaze was sparked of the second story of a four-story apartment building on Rabbi Shauli Street.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene along with MDA emergency first responders.

Paramedics reported that most of the building’s residents had been forced to evacuate on their own without the help of the fire department, due in part to the intense smoke emanating from the fire.

Three people rescued from the burning building were injured, including two in serious condition who suffered burns across large portions of their bodies, and a third victim in moderate condition suffering from smoke inhalation.

“When we arrived at the scene, we saw fire and thick smoke in an apartment on the second floor,” said MDA paramdeics Yehuda Shoshana and Haim Levin. “The building was engulfed in smoke and most of the residents evacuated on their own, though some were pulled from their apartments.”

“Three young men, fully conscious, were pulled from an apartment on the second floor, including a man about 30 years old who suffered burns on 50% of his body and also suffered smoke inhalation; a second young man in his 20s who had burns on 30% of his body; and a third victim suffering from smoke inhalation. We provided the victims with life-saving treatment, then evacuated them to the hospital while two were in serious condition and the third in moderate condition.”

The victims were evacuated to Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan and Assuta Medical Center in Ashdod.

The 30-year-old victim, who suffered from second and third-degree burns across half of his body, was evacuated to Sheba Medical Center while sedated and on a respirator.