A fire at a five-story refugee home in the German city of Bremen injured 37 inhabitants, police and emergency services said on Sunday.

Some 14 people were taken to the hospital after being evacuated, including 10 children.

Emergency services were alerted to the fire around 2:25 a.m. (04:25 UTC) on Sunday by several callers who said the house was on fire and that its inhabitants were shouting for help from their windows.

Due to thick smoke, eight people had to be evacuated with ladders, the fire department said. The large-scale deployment included 70 firefighters and 27 emergency vehicles which were able to extinguish the fire shortly before 3 a.m.

According to police, the fire started in a garbage can in the basement of the building.

Authorities in Bremen said it is still unclear what caused the fire to break out, but that the case is being investigated by the city's criminal police.

The fire department declared the building "uninhabitable for the time being" after the apartments sustained serious smoke damage.