RALEIGH — OneN.C. State studenthas died, another was injured, and a third was left grieving after an early morning apartment fire Thursday in Raleigh.

The three young men who shared the apartment atSumter Squaregrew up together in the small North Carolina town of Autryville. The trio came to N.C. State together and would have graduated together this spring. Instead, there is a long, emotional recovery ahead.

The smoke detectors went off around 3:30 a.m. Thursday as flames and smoke rushed through the bottom apartment shared by the students.

Student Gary Bradley Jackson was awakened by a smoke detector in the apartment and tried to rescue one of his roommates, with the help of a volunteer firefighter who was first to arrive on the scene.

"We figured out where he was at, and there was no way that either of us could get in because of the smoke. And about the time we figured out where he was, one of the First-End Raleigh engine company showed up," says volunteer firefighter Doug Draper.

They managed to get Blake Alex Bullard out through a window. The senior was taken to theNC Jaycee Burn Center at UNC. He is expected to make a complete recovery.

Doctors pronounced Ken Stuart Carroll, who was trapped inside, dead on arrival at WakeMed.

The university has set up a counseling center to help students cope with the loss.

Investigators believe the fire was accidental and started as a result of something left cooking on the stove.