An elderly resident was pulled from an apartment without vital signs after a fire broke out at a Cabbagetown highrise Monday afternoon.

Fire crews were called to the 14-storey building on Bleecker Street, near Carlton Street, at around 4:30 p.m.

One person was pulled from a unit on the fourth floor without vital signs. First responders performed CPR. Toronto Paramedic Services said they then rushed the man to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The fire was quickly extinguished.

Firefighters did not immediately reveal the cause of the fire, but said that a mattress was involved.

A broken window at a fourth-floor unit could be seen from ground-level following the fire, with water dripping down below.

A witness who had to flee told CP24 that smoke quickly spread throughout the building.

"The smoke spread everywhere, to the whole building," Anita Paquet said. "It was spreading in the hallway, I could smell it so strong."

No other injuries have been reported.

The Toronto Fire Investigations Unit, Toronto police and The Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal will be investigating.