Forty people were forced from their homes Wednesday night after a two-alarm fire broke out in a low-rise apartment building near St. Clair Street West and Bathurst.

Six were treated on site for smoke inhalation and one pregnant woman was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Jackie Fox was inside her second-floor apartment when she was alerted to the danger and quickly left.

“I heard a girl scream really loudly and then all of a sudden, the fire alarms went off,” she told CBC News. “Then I heard someone say ‘get out, there’s a fire. I grabbed my coat and ran out and there was black smoke along the top of the roof."

Cat rescued by firefighters

Resident Elizabeth Baker said she didn’t care about the contents of her apartment, she was worried about finding her cat Tabitha.

“It's kind of my worst nightmare to tell you the truth,” she told CBC News. “I know some people think it's just a cat but she's all I have.”

Baker was thankful to firefighters who found Tabitha and got her out safely.

“This fireman is so wonderful, he's taking this so seriously and he's just done everything to go in and find her. I don't know how he found her. I just want to thank him.”

Toronto Fire Division Cmdr. Len Staddler said there was also a close call for one firefighter.

“He was low on oxygen and called for help,” he said. “He was disoriented because the hallway was heavily charged with smoke.”

The firefighter was able to escape the blaze by crawling out a window.

There is no word on what caused the fire.