Update, 10:50 a.m.: Friday's early morning apartment fire in the 14000 block of Castle Boulevard began in the rear of a ground-level apartment, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services.

Firefighters arrived on the scene at Woodlake Apartments around 7:30 a.m. and rescued at least eight people from apartment balconies, Garcia said. "Several" occupants of the building were assessed by rescue personnel, but no one needed to be transported to a hospital and no firefighters were injured, he said. 

Crews arrived from Kensington, Laurel, Hillandale, Beltsville and Howard County, among other places, to assist Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department with the massive fire.

Garcia said that 36 units in the apartment complex are unable to be re-occupied due to smoke, fire or damage to utilities. So far, 74 people will be displaced as a result of the flames. 

"Between Red Cross and [apartment] management, they are going to try and relocate them within the ocmplex or find other places for them to live," Garcia told Patch. 

No word on the cause of the fire or on the estimated damage to apartment and personal property. 

Trucks from Baltimore Gas & Electric and Washington Gas were on the scene Friday morning. Part of what is needed for residents to move back into their apartments is an assessment of electricity and plumbing, Garcia said. The utilties within the building are all interconnected and it's "one of the main reasons why they're displaced," he said. 

Original story, 9:35 a.m.: Eight residents in the Woodlake Apartments so far have had to be rescued from their apartments Friday morning as fire engulfs their homes.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the apartment complex in the 14000 block of Castle Boulevard about 7:30 a.m. They are still on the scene.

Initial observation by firefighters on the scene concluded fire was blazing from the back of a townhouse, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Scott Graham said.

“Firefighters made an initial attack. The fire was growing extensively. They made eight rescues from ladders from the garden apartments. The fire rapidly spread to the attic of the garden apartment,” he added.

Patch will keep you updated as the story develops.

Follow Colesville Patch on Twitter and Facebook for the latest.