PORTLAND, Ore. -- One person died and two others were injured in a North Portland apartment fire.

"I was standing right there ten feet away and it was very very hot," said Penny Arnett, who watched Saturday night as the lights of fire trucks filled the dark sky.

The flames erupted shortly before 11:30pm, pouring from a top floor apartment unit near the intersection of North McKenna and North Lombard.

"It went kaboom," explained Arnett.

By Sunday morning the fire was all the neighborhood was talking about. Most were still trying to comprehend the injuries. Two men were burned and one man was killed by intense heat and repeated explosions.

The man who died was 54-year-old Thomas Gibson. The injured were taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital, one was in critical condition.

Shannon Hodges works at a pub a block from the fire. Even while inside her crowded tavern she heard and felt the explosions as the fire began to grow.

"There was flames coming out of that window there and next thing you know there's about ten fire trucks out here," said Hodges.

Portland Fire & Rescue has a station just a third of a mile to the east of the apartment complex. Firefighters from Station 26 were on scene in less than three minutes, but the flames had already blocked the unit's escape routes.

"We had strong heavy fire coming out of the front door of the apartment and out of the side window too," says Lt. Alan Bronson.

Investigators saied the three men living inside had overloaded an outlet with a computer and other electronics causing the fire.

Tanya Minjares recalled the neighbors she never really knew but often said conversed with.

"We'd always say hello and how are you doing. They're pretty nice guys."

Minjares lives just doors away in a nearby unit. She was forced to run from her home and late Sunday morning she still didn't feel the same.

"My stomach is a ball of nerves. I slept with a nightmare all night. I haven't slept. I think I slept awake," said Minjares.

As of early Sunday afternoon, the apartment's two survivors were still a local hospital. One was being treated for moderate burns. The second suffered critical burns.

Portland Fire & Rescue says the injuries in this case were likely made worse by the fact that the unit had no smoke alarms.

Investigators say the men were asleep when the flames ignited and could have potentially been alerted had alarms been in place.