UTICA, N.Y. -- Fire officials say that at least 9 people are displaced after an early morning fire in the city of Utica. They say a dog never made it out. 

It started around 2:45 a.m. Monday morning along the ten-hundred block of Mary Street.

Utica Fire Chief Scott Ingersoll says the fire was confined to the attic space of the 2 1/2 story apartment house.

By the time crews arrived, everyone was out of the house.

"Crews initiated with a defensive operation, they stretched handlines, we were able to get to the fire in the attic and extinguish it," said Chief Ingersoll. "We've conducted salvage operations, placed tarps through the first and second floors. Right now, 9 people are displaced. They are assisted by the Red Cross. No one is injured at this point. But we did lose one dog to the fire. It was found on the top stairs to the attic."

Ingersoll said the residents reported of a smell of smoke, possibly of wood burning, earlier in the evening. That was before the fire was ever reported. 

The investigation into a cause is ongoing.