MOUNT CARMEL -- A fire in Northumberland County has left five people homeless.
All that's left of a row-home in Mount Carmel is pieces of roof and siding strewn across the sidewalk, with several broken windows from firefighters fighting flames
"I was here within five minutes and the flames were shooting out the middle of this house, and back there were going like crazy,” said Steve Mayernick.
The Mount Carmel fire chief tells Newswatch 16, the blaze broke out around 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Video shows huge flames shooting out of the building, and smoke billowing out of the windows on the 400 block of East Centre Street in Mount Carmel.
It took firefighters about a half hour to get it under control.
Mayernick, who owns the white double family home, tells us his daughter, her boyfriend, and one-week-old granddaughter were inside at the time
"A little after six there was a loud explosion, He went upstairs to see what was going on, he saw smoke, then he came out got her and the baby out and made sure all neighbors were out."
One man and a woman who live in the other homes were not inside when the fire broke out.
Suzie Marino owns the yellow home next door. She says her house has been in her family for generations and she's lost lots of valuables you can never get back.
"You can't replace things, the kids’ pictures and things like that. The firemen were really nice. They tried to get out what they could. They brought me pictures last night that they could save."
The state police fire marshal says the blaze is not suspicious. He says he believes it started in the back of the middle home. At this point the cause is still undetermined.
The homeowners say they hope to rebuild in the future, if possible.
The victims are staying with family and are being helped by the Red Cross.