A firefighter collects hoses after flames broke out in a first-floor unit at the Pines of Cloverlane Apartments. Two women were rescued from second-floor balconies and a man was taken to a local hospital with minor facial burns, authorities said.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Firefighters rescued two women off balconies in a Pittsfield Township apartment complex Wednesday afternoon after flames spread through a first-floor unit.

A man was taken to the hospital with minor facial burns, but no other injuries were reported in the 2 p.m. fire at the Pines of Cloverlane Apartments, Pittsfield Fire Commander Sean Gleason said.

Gleason said firefighters responded after multiple 911 calls came in to dispatch reporting a fire at 4460 Swiss Pine Lane. One of the calls was from a woman standing on a balcony, indicating she was in a second-floor apartment when it filled with smoke and she was unable to get out.

Gleason said fire crews arrived to find flames in a lower level unit and ladders were used to rescue two people from apartments above. A man living in the apartment where the fire started tried to put the flames out himself before calling 911, Gleason said, and suffered minor burns in the process.

Shattered windows are propped up next to an apartment damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Authorities continue to investigate what caused the fire and are unsure where it started. Gleason was unable to estimate damages Wednesday afternoon.

Several neighbors gathered on a lawn near the affected building as fire crews broke through first-floor windows and moved inside.

Leah Singleton, 26, was at work when she received a call from her 18-year-old cousin, Catherine Hall, who was staying in Singleton’s top-floor apartment when it began to fill with smoke.

“She said there was smoke billowing up from the floor and she had gone out onto the balcony,” Singleton said.

Hall remained on the phone with Singleton as fire crews lifted her to the ground.

“She was definitely shaken up, but she was OK,” Singleton said of Hall, who left for work uninjured before firefighters cleared the scene.

Gleason said four units in the building had smoke damage, including the one where the fire started. Damages remained largely on the inside of the building.

The Red Cross is helping those living in the affected units, Gleason said.

Ypsilanti Township firefighters assisted at the scene.

Heidi Fenton covers police and courts for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at heidifenton@annarbor.com or 734-623-4673. You also can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.