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Sizakele Tugwana says she will not soon forget her 26th birthday after she watched smoke and flames engulf her Aspen Hill apartment building Tuesday night.

"It was terrible," she said as she gazed at the rubble in front of her back porch this morning. "I'll always remember this birthday for years to come, unfortunately."

The fire broke out shortly before 8:30 p.m. in the Manor Apartments at 14201 Georgia Avenue, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

Firefighters were greeted by smoke and flames pouring out of the third floor of the three-story building, he said.

The fire eventually spread from the third floor into the attic and roof, he said. It took more than 135 firefighters to battle the blaze.

All residents had evacuated the building by the time firefighters arrived, Garcia said.

One resident was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, but has since been released, Garcia said today. There were no other reported injuries.

Fire officials said the blaze burned undetected for some time behind a wall on the third floor before a resident called 911. Garcia said the damage at the point of origin was too great to determine the exact cause of the fire.

He estimates damage to the 40-year-old building to be approximately $1.25 million.

Charis Warshof, a spokeswoman for Home Properties Inc., the Rochester, N.Y.-based company that owns and manages the Manor Apartments, said 14 apartment units were significantly damaged from fire, smoke and water, and utilities had to be temporarily shut off at two adjacent buildings while inspectors tested whether they were in safe working order.

Forty-nine people had to be evacuated from the 43 apartments within the complex last night, she said. The Red Cross of the National Capital Area was called in to assist residents and an emergency shelter was set up at the Bauer Drive Community Center, a short distance away.

Kelvin Baptist, a Red Cross employee who was serving as manager of the shelter this morning, said 16 people stayed at the community center last night. He said the Red Cross is also providing food and clothing to residents as needed.

Baptist said he does not know how long the shelter will remain open.

Tugwana said Red Cross offered her and her boyfriend shelter and other amenities, but the two opted to stay with a friend who lives nearby.

She said this morning that she was not being allowed back into her apartment, which is on the ground floor of the building, and has no idea what she will find when she goes back inside.

"It's driving me crazy that we can't go in," she said.

Tugwana noted that she is glad that everyone is at least safe.

"It's awful, but we'll be OK and we'll get through this," she said.

Warshof said Home Properties is trying to determine the full extent of the damage and does not know when residents will be allowed to return. In the meantime, the company is offering to put up residents in empty apartments in the complex or in units in other nearby communities that Home Properties owns, such as Peppertree Farm and Cinnamon Run.

"We're working with the families individually to see what we can do to accommodate them during this difficult time," she said.