Residents of a senior citizen housing complex in Hempstead had to be evacuated after a fire broke out Wednesday night.

Fire officials say the fire began in a second-floor apartment of the three-story Douglas MacArthur Senior Citizen Center. The second and third floors of the building suffered smoke and heat damage, while the apartment where the fire started was destroyed.

Twelve residents were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Two firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and released. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.