Lee told the players to go around the building and bang on the windows to alert anyone inside; he went inside and started pounding on doors as Bayne shouted from the entrance. Smoke was accumulating quickly, so Baynes voice helped Lee find his way back outside as he escorted bewildered groups of two to three people away from the fire at a time, he said.

Ten people had escaped the blaze when a woman said her child was still inside, Lee said. At that moment, a young teen girl came running through the smoke out the front door.

She was saved by the fact that the boys kept beating on the windows, Lee said.

Firefighters arrived and the basketball team let the professionals take over and headed to breakfast, Lee said.

See, the AFD spokesman, said the lack of alarms was due to the fires likely origin outside the building.

We believe it started on the deck, the upstairs right one, See said. Because it was an external fire, there was no fire alarm sounding -- until you have a window break from the heat, nothing sounds inside.

Wednesdays weather -- with northeast winds up to 10 mph, according to the National Weather Service -- significantly increased the potential danger of the fire, leading to the call for additional units. The blaze was brought under control about 45 minutes after the initial call.

One of the factors in the second alarm was the wind, See said. They could see the fire reaching the roof, and when it got there it gave them concerns about controlling it.

See noted that crews arrived almost immediately because the blaze occurred just a block from Fire Station 5 on McRae Road, readily visible from outside the damaged building.

Delene Bartel, the building owners mother, said she was alerted to the fire by a neighbor who lived near the building. She didnt have immediate word on whether the building, estimated at $540,000 in overall value, would be repaired.

I want everyone to be OK and have a place to stay -- that's my concern, Bartel said.

Milo said shes concerned about the fate of her home, but the important part is that she, her husband, their children and grandchildren are all safe.

We will figure it out, Milo said. It's sticking-together time.

The Sitka basketball team returned to the building after breakfast. An elderly tenant thanked the group for saving his life, Lee said.

The Red Cross is helping the displaced residents.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that members of the basketball team ran into the burning building. While coach Andrew Lee went inside, the players alerted tenants from the outside by banging on windows.