No injuries were reported but authorities said eight people were displaced Wednesday following a blaze that damaged several floors of Bethlehem Tower, one of the largest affordable housing complexes in Santa Rosa.

Shorly after 3 p.m., fire crews responded to an alarm at the 15-story building, Santa Rosa Fire Division Chief and Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal said.

He added that after entering the structure at 801 Tupper St., firefighters found a unit burning on the 12th floor and upgraded the call to a second-alarm.

This meant that because the property is a high-rise — one of the tallest in the North Bay — three Santa Rosa Fire Department ladder trucks were then dispatched to assist the 12 SRFD engines and multiple chief officers and emergency medical personnel already at the scene.

Fire crews quickly contained the flames to the single 12th floor unit but found that a number of floors sustained fire, smoke and water damage.

Floors 11 and 12 were primarily affected, with water damage potentially extending as far down as the eighth floor, according to Lowenthal.

Shortly after 6 p.m., he said fire crews determined 21 units sustained some kind of damage. He added that eight single-occupant units had to be evacuated.

Karen Naumann, who lives on the ninth floor, was inside her apartment when the alarm sounded.

“I heard the alarm go off, which it does once a month or so,” she said. “I poked my head out, didn’t smell anything, and came back in.”

After seeing multiple fire vehicles outside the building, she said she soon realized the situation was more serious.

“Normally we’ll have one truck or two,” Naumann said. “With six or eight, I thought, ‘What’s going on?’”

Naumann said her mother, Leanna MacDonald — who lives on the 12th floor and has lived in the building for about 30 years — was able to shelter with a neighbor a few floors down while firefighters assessed the conditions on the 12th floor.

Emily ThunderHorse, who lives on the 11th floor, said she was evacuated after water came through her apartment’s entryway.

“They made sure I got out, because my entire entryway had water coming down,” ThunderHorse said, adding that as she was evacuating the rest of her apartment seemed to be OK.

ThunderHorse said she wasn’t certain where she would be staying overnight and was awaiting further direction from the building’s management and emergency officials.

Choosing to remain optimistic, she added, “It’ll be okay. There’s a good community here. We can’t do much while they all work, so why are we going to sit here and freak out about it?”

A Bethlehem Tower property manager who was there when the fire was reported declined to comment Wednesday.

Fire officials said they are working with the American Red Cross to assist displaced residents who need shelter, Lowenthal said.

“The priority right now is limiting any more damage from the water and then helping get people into a shelter,” he said.

An investigation into the cause of the fire will be conducted after immediate emergency operations are completed.

Despite the damage that displaced many of their neighbors, some residents said they still intend to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

“The show must go on,” said Naumann. “I was just about ready for my glass of champagne but I’m sure glad I didn’t open it already.”