Yeah, even without lots of flames, the smoke damage is enough to ruin absolutely everything in your apartment. A friend of mine had a fire in her building on a lower floor and still had to throw away nearly all of her possessions, besides the few things she could get professionally cleaned/fixed.

They also had hoses running, but from the street I couldn't tell how much water they had to use. Interior water damage would go beyond the smoke damage. Hope the residents are coping well.

I was coming home after 8 and saw many fire engines and a large police presence. Hopefully there isn't too much damage. It must be devastating to have this kind of thing happen to your home.

It's a good thing those cops were there to evacuate those people otherwise someone could have been seriously hurt or killed.

Was walking back to apartment on this block when I smelled what was clearly a building burning, but no fire in sight. Called police, who seemed to be aware and then saw some officers walking around Van Vorst park looking for the fire. We spotted smoke coming from the cornice at 279 York and the PD immediately started evacuating the building and neighbors. FD arrived shortly, and while there were no noticeable flames, the smoke was heavy on the top floor. Luckily, it didn't seem anyone was trapped inside, and EMS was not treating anyone.

Some photos here: 279 York Street Fire