A fire ravaged an apartment complex in north Ames early Sunday morning, sending seven people to the hospital and causing up to $100,000 in damages.

Ames Fire Capt. Rich Taylor said his department got a call at about 5 a.m. alerting it to the blaze at 815 24th St. #1, and firefighters responded to the scene within four minutes.

Taylor said the fire started when a resident of the 36-unit complex, Julie Dee, left a candle at her bedside lit all night. The blaze remained isolated to Dee’s apartment.

“When they’re confined like that to one room, water will convert to steam, and it pretty much snuffs it out,” he said. “We had the fire knocked down in about 60 seconds.”

The flames spread smoke to the other five apartment units in Dee’s six-unit section of the complex, Taylor said.

Four of the units were occupied when fire trucks arrived at the scene, and the seven residents affected by smoke inhalation were transported to Mary Greeley Medical Center via ambulance.

Four were treated and immediately released while three stayed for further examination and were released late Sunday morning, he said.

Taylor said although initial damage estimates were around $35,000, insurance reports Monday speculated that the price tag on the fire might reach as high as $100,000.

As for the six apartments evacuated, Taylor said he was not sure how much time it would take to restore them, but he said Dee’s apartment would probably take longer because the interior was, for the most part, gutted.

“That’s going to be almost like building a new unit in the same place,” he said.

The complex is managed by Furman Property Management, 803 24th St.

Tenants now left homeless are being taken care of by the Story County chapter of the Red Cross, which is providing housing for those who have no family or friends to provide shelter.

The Red Cross also is providing victims with food and clothing, as well as covering miscellaneous bills racked up due to the fire.