Radford officials condemned the 12-unit building in the 700 block of Downey Street hours after the fire broke out in a second-floor apartment, Fire Chief Lee Simpkins said. The first emergency crews arrived about 5:50 a.m. and had to scurry up ladders to rescue 10 residents from their balconies, Simpkins said. All tenants escaped without injury, although a Great Dane was unable to escape and died, he said.

"I think we were very fortunate that we didn't have a loss of life," he said.

The fire broke out in Apartment F, occupied by three men, and quickly spread to the third floor, Simpkins said. Smoke detectors in the building, owned by TNT Flinchum Property Management, were working when firefighters arrived, and the property was insured, Simpkins said.

The fire has been ruled an accident, although the cause was still under investigation Friday, said Lt. Scott Schwarzer of the Radford Police Department, the city's fire investigator. He said it may have been sparked by something electrical.

Firefighters from Radford and Fairlawn spent most of the morning helping to mop up after the blaze and assess the damage, estimated at more than $150,000.

The university, the American Red Cross and several rental companies banded together to help find new housing and supplies for the people displaced by the fire. About two-thirds of the victims are university students, said Debbie Brown, a university spokeswoman.

RU's counseling center sent staff to the scene Friday morning, followed by a flood of donations from campus, including T-shirts and flip-flops from the athletic department and the University Bookstore.

"The kids are running around in gray RU Athletics T-shirts, but it's better than whatever they had on at the time," said Paula Downs, director of the Radford, Giles and Pulaski chapter of the American Red Cross. "Many of them just wanted to get rid of the smoky smell." The Red Cross expects to spend $3,000 to $5,000 providing meal and clothing vouchers to everyone affected by the fire, Downs said. Meal vouchers, good at Dalton Hall through Monday, were given to everyone, whether they attended RU or not, she said.

"The kids have been resilient," she said. "While most of them have lost most of their things, if not everything, they've been very polite, very kind and very thankful."

TNT Flinchum and other property management companies were working together to provide alternative housing for the 30 people. Because both RU and Virginia Tech students and their families swarmed into the New River Valley this week, no hotel rooms are available, Downs said.

The American Red Cross can only take financial donations to help the fire victims. Donations can be made at 616A W. Main St., Radford, VA 24141.