Twenty-seven people were seeking shelter today after a fire that might have been started by a space heater damaged in an Eastside apartment building.

The fire broke out at 3:45 a.m. in a second-floor unit at the Bradford Square Apartments, 6240 E. 11th St. Ramona McCarty, 28, was awakened by one of seven children living there. The 16-year-old said he smelled smoke in his bedroom, said Capt. Rita Reith, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.

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The teenager and the other children, between the ages of 4 and 10, managed to escape the apartment, along with McCarty. Twenty other residents of the building also were evacuated.

McCarty told investigators that the fire could have been started by a space heater. The family had removed the cover of the heater because it was damaged and there was a blanket near it, she said.

The family also had no batteries in the smoke detectors because the previous batteries died and they had not gotten around to buying new ones.

The fire caused about $75,000 in water, smoke and fire damage. The cause is thought to be accidental, Reith said.