SAN JOSE -- A fast-moving two-alarm fire raced through a San Jose home early Tuesday, trapping two residents in a backroom refuge who were “semi-conscious” by the time firefighters were able to rescue them from the blaze, authorities said.

San Jose Fire Department Capt. Alberto Olmos told KTVU that the two residents were saved by a closed door.

“Fortunately for the residents they were sleeping with the door shut,” Olmos said. “So they were protected from a lot of the heat and gases… It gave firefighters a few extra minutes to rescue them.”

When firefighters arrived on the scene at around 3:15 a.m. they found the front of the Miller Ave. home completely engulfed in flames.

While attacking the blaze, cries for help alerted the firefighters to the fact that two residents were still inside. However, a near tragedy then confronted firefighters when a roof caved in right after they had passed under it.

They were rescued minutes before the inferno roared into the rear of the home, but were still groggy from smoke inhalation.

“It appears they were semi-conscious, disoriented and were having trouble getting out of the house,” Olmos said. “The firefighters were able to get to them through the back of the house.”

Sonika Subramanian, who lives in the neighborhood, said the flames towered over the home.

“There was like a lot of flames,” Subramanian said. “It’s was really big … There was a lot of smoke everywhere.”

The two residents were taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and possibly minor burns, Olmos said. A neighbor was also injured trying to extinguish the flames before firefighters arrived and was also taken to a local hospital.

A family dog was also rescued.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation.