CENTRAL BRIDGE — About a dozen residents in an eight-unit apartment house at 197 Church St. will spend at least a few days in area motels after a fire damaged the building Wednesday morning.

No injuries were reported.

Seven of the apartments were occupied, according to Jim VanDerwerken, president of Liahona Inc., which owns the building.

Initial indications are that the fire started in a second-floor storage room of the three-story frame building, but the cause remains under investigation.

Although calling the cause of the 8:50 a.m. fire suspicious, Schoharie County Fire Coordinator Matt Brisley said: “We’re just about out of accidental causes.”

“I was upstairs in my bedroom cleaning when smoke started coming up from downstairs,” said Jim Clark, a tenant who said he was in the process of moving out when the fire started. “I went outside and saw smoke billowing up and called 911.”

A few seconds later, “Jim, my neighbor, was banging on the door and I saw smoke in the hallway,” said Eve Launer, who shares an apartment with Jarrett Rigley. The couple’s boxer, Ben, had also just awakened them, Launer said.

She said there were flames coming out of the storage room after the door blew off.

Central Bridge Fire Chief Scott Johnson said the “balloon construction” of the building, which offers a route for flames through spaces between the framework, worried firefighters.

“We’ve been thinking about this fire for years,” said Second Assistant Chief Eric Johnson, Scott Johnson’s father. “We’re very lucky. This was a major disaster waiting to happen.”

The open area of a first-floor gym also could potentially contribute to the spread of fire, he said.

Eric Johnson said firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading within about five minutes and had the fire under control about 40 minutes later.

Three American Red Cross volunteers on the scene were busy making arrangements for temporary lodging, food and clothing for 12 people in six families dislocated by the smoky blaze.

They were likely to be put up at area motels for three days, said Red Cross representative Jerry Jackson.

Town of Schoharie Code Enforcement Officer Peter Irwin said the building would remain closed to occupants until several fire and building code violations were fixed.

Power to the building was shut off after the fire by a National Grid crew and would remain off “until every line is checked,” Irwin said.

Although Irwin said it was unclear whether any code violations uncovered Wednesday contributed to the fire, “the building has been on the edge for a long time.”

Among violations noted Wednesday was trash piled in front of an electrical panel and lack of a handrail on steps, Irwin said.

Irwin said VanDerwerken was “very cooperative” regarding the violations. A full inspection of the building was expected. The last required fire inspection of common areas, such as hallways, was made less than a year ago, Irwin said.

Because of the upstairs apartments, a ladder truck from Cobleskill Fire Department was called in case a rescue was needed. A total of about 50 firefighters from departments in Schoharie, Esperance and Middleburgh were also called to assist Central Bridge firefighters.

The building is insured, according to VanDerwerken.