A fire that broke out in downtown St. John's early Sunday morning was quickly extinguished by firefighters.

They were called to a three storey brick building at the corner of Water and Queen Street around 6 a.m.

St. John's Fire department Shift Superintendent Don Byrne said four apartments in the building were evacuated and the Red Cross was called in to help people who lived in them. No one was injured.

He said that when firefighters arrived they could see smoke coming from the building and they found flames in the pizza shop on the first floor.

The fire was contained to the first floor, but there was some smoke damage on the upper levels.

Byrne said the cause of the fire was under investigation.