WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- A dozen people, including several children, are out of their homes after a fire this weekend in Williamsport.
According to neighbors, this isn't the first time there has been a fire at the home.
Newswatch 16 met a woman outside her family's home on Mosser Avenue. She was sifting through a bin of her daughter and grandchildren's belongings. She didn't want to speak on camera.
Less than 24 hours ago, the home where she raised her children caught fire.
According to investigators, the fire started on the first floor of one of the row homes Sunday evening.
A mother and her seven children lived there.
When the flames first started, neighbors were worried the children, who are between 3 and 12 years old, were home.
Kim Dymeck brought over a fire extinguisher. She tried breaking down the door with a shovel.
"Then the other neighbor came over with a cinderblock and busted that out, and we got the two dogs out," Dymeck said.
No one was home, but the fire spread, damaging the property next door.
In all, 12 people were forced from their homes.
"I was terrified. I was balling. It's a scary thing. It's sad," Dymeck said.
Fire investigators spent part of the day inside the building.
Neighbors tell Williamsport Assistant Fire Chief Mark Killian there was a small fire inside this same home just a few days ago.
"Fire department was never dispatched. It was extinguished by the occupants of the building," Killian said. "We are in the process of investigating that and the cause of this fire."
According to investigators, most of the building is too damaged to live in, but they expect at least one of the families will be able to move back in within a few days.
If you would like to help donate to the family of eight affected by the fire, click here.