The apartment of three Northwestern men’s basketball players sustained severe damage in a fire Tuesday afternoon. No one was hurt in the blaze, which fire officials estimated caused $50,000 in damage.

Davor Duvancic, Ivan Tolic and Vedran Vukusic – all varsity basketball players from Split, Croatia – said they were studying in their third-floor apartment at 2201 Ridge Ave. when Tolic noticed the curtains and bed in his room were engulfed in flames.

The three men tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire using buckets of water before calling for help, Duvancic said.

"We just couldn’t get close to the room," he said. "There was too much smoke."

Duvancic and his roommates alerted other residents of the building to the fire, but Duvancic said an alarm did not go off until after they tried to put the fire out themselves.

Emergency crews responded to the fire at about 4 p.m. As people gathered on the sidewalks below to see what was happening, 24 firefighters battled the fire. The firefighters were seen breaking windows from inside the apartment and using a ladder to reach the apartment from the roof.

The Evanston Fire Department blocked Ridge Avenue for about 90 minutes with four ladder trucks and several other emergency vehicles.

Vice President for University Relations Alan Cubbage said the university would find substitute housing for the students displaced by the fire. Duvancic, Tolic and Vukusic said they planned to stay with friends Tuesday night until NU could find an alternative.

"We have a lot of friends," Tolic said. "This is a warm community."

The basketball team does not play any games during finals week so players can concentrate on their exams – the team’s next game is Dec. 15. Players usually stay in Evanston through Winter Break.

But Tolic said his remaining exam was the furthest thing from his mind when he found out his room and everything in it was "just black."

"It’s unbelievable," he said. "I really don’t care about (the exam) right now."

Vukusic was relieved to find out at about 5:30 p.m. that his computer was not damaged because he had a paper due Wednesday.

"My life’s not over," he said, when Tolic told him the two other bedrooms had minimal smoke damage.

The apartment where the fire started was not the only one in the building – which is primarily occupied by students – that sustained damages.

McCormick senior Lauren Drowley, who lives in the second-floor apartment below the basketball players, stood on the sidewalk outside the building until about 5:15 p.m., waiting anxiously to gain access to her room.

She said water from the fire hoses was streaming down the walls.

Drowley has two finals Thursday, but she said the timing of the fire could have been worse.

"At least we can leave our wet apartment behind," she said.

Drowley and other students who live in the building said they were told a candle probably started the blaze. Duvancic, Tolic and Vukusic said they did not know what started the fire. The three players had lived in the same apartment last year.

The building has 31 units and is owned by Wilmette Real Estate, according to the building manager, Tim, who refused to give his last name.