The Williston fire chief has identified the woman and her baby who were two of three victims of an early Saturday morning apartment fire.

Chief Jim Jarland said the woman is Nicki Nichols, 32, and her 4-month-old baby is Grace Barlow. The baby was found dead at the fire, and her mother died Sunday after being transported to a Minneapolis burn center Saturday morning.

The mother and daughter were upstairs in an apartment building, when fire broke out in an apartment below.

Josh Schmitz, 27, also died from smoke inhalation in the blaze. Jarland said the fire started in Schmitz' apartment when a lit cigarette fell into the couch.

Schmitz is apparently a non-smoker.

Schmitz was living in the apartment with Rochelle Doney, 23, and Bastian Doney, 5.

After the fire started, Rochelle Doney went out the bedroom window and Josh Schmitz said he would grab Bastian and go out the front.

Rochelle Doney ran around the building and upstairs, pulled the main fire alarm switch and two other apartment residents followed her back down to Schmitz's apartment.

Jarland said one of the men, John Berntenson, heard the boy coughing and reached into the apartment and pulled him to safety. The boy sustained injuries from the fire and is being treated at the Minneapolis burn center.

Josh Schmitz was a few feet further into the room and Berntenson could neither see nor hear him.

Firefighters found Schmitz's body when they responded a short time later.

Meanwhile, Nicki Nichols was in an upstairs apartment with Grace Barlow, her boyfriend Jamie Barlow, and Jacey Nichols, 2.

Jarland said Nicki Nichols picked up the baby and Jamie Barlow picked up the 2-year-old and fled down the back stairs.

Jamie Barlow said he thought Nicki Nichols and the infant were right behind him, but they apparently turned back in the heat and smoke.

The building, owned by Dan Vondrachek, of Bismarck, holds 24 apartments. All of the apartments have had to be vacated because the power was cut and because of heavy smoke damage.

Jarland said the Red Cross and the local emergency services have been providing food and shelter for the displaced families. Local churches also have donated clothing.

Jarland said most of the apartment fire alarms were nonoperational. He said one apartment resident said she disabled the alarm because it was "chirping," an indication the battery needs changing.

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@wes-triv.com.)