Two tenants of an apartment complex in Sydney are temporarily homeless after a fire ripped through part of the building Thursday morning.

Police and fire crews received a call about a fire at 325 Bentinck Street, near Wentworth Park, just after 5am.

There are three units in the complex. The fire started in the living room of the upstairs unit. No one was home at the time.

A woman was asleep in one of the units downstairs but she and her cat managed to escape.

No injuries were reported, but there is significant damage to the apartment complex.

The Canadian Red Cross says two tenants have been displaced and are receiving help from the organization.

Investigators are working to pinpoint the cause of the fire, which was mostly contained to the upstairs apartment.