One person was transported to a Modesto hospital this morning for smoke inhalation after a couple of storage containers caught fire in downtown Patterson, fire officials said.

By the time fire crews arrived at the scene around 11:30 a.m. on South Third Street, behind Ernie’s Taqueria, the blaze had already subsided into a seething pile, Patterson Fire Department Chief Steve Hall said.

An unidentified victim was inside the container at the time of the fire, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Hall said.

“When we arrived, the fire was already out except for some smoldering clothes and mattresses,” he said. “It looked like there were some other people who were living there, too, though.”

Hall said the owner of the containers denied having any knowledge of anyone living inside, but that, too, is under investigation.

One of the storage containers appeared to be empty, and the other used to store a collection of older stock auto parts, he said.

• Contact PI News at 892-6187 or news@pattersonirrigator.com.