LEWISTON – A fire that ripped through an apartment on Lincoln Street on Tuesday night started in a bedroom on the top floor, a fire inspector said Wednesday.

The blaze was largely contained to that room because the woman who lives in the apartment shut the door behind her as she fled.

Gretchen Hatch, 35, was treated for smoke inhalation and possible burns after she was removed from her blazing apartment about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Others on the first floor also fled the building when it went up in flames. Christopher Dufour, who lives downstairs, escaped with his cats and a snake.

Later in the night, firefighters rescued two of Hatch’s cats from the smoke-filled apartment on the second floor. Those animals were being treated at an animal clinic Wednesday after spending part of Tuesday night inside fire Inspector Paul Ouellette’s van.

The cause of the fire remained unknown. The first callers to 911 Tuesday night reported that a lamp had overturned inside Hatch’s apartment, setting the bedding on fire. Fire officials were exploring that as a possible cause but the investigation was ongoing.

Ouellette said Hatch apparently closed her bedroom door after the bedding ignited, preventing the fire from making a fast move toward other parts of the apartment.

“The entire room flashed over,” Ouellette said. “That contained the fire to that one room.”

Even so, the rest of the apartment sustained extensive heat, smoke and water damage. Another apartment on the second floor was also damaged by heat and smoke. Dufour’s apartment on the bottom level sustained water damage.

Ouellette estimated the amount of damage at between $80,000 and $90,000. The building at 253 Lincoln St. is owed by Ray Corp. of Lewiston.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Ouellette was still searching for Hatch, who was released from the hospital, to interview her about the fire.

Animal Control Officer Wendell Strout said Hatch’s cats were taken to the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society after they were treated.

“They’re fine,” Strout said. “They’re just waiting for her to pick them up.”