MOUNT CARMEL -- Fire damaged 10 homes late Thursday night in Mount Carmel.
Officials believe the first flames sparked at 317 North Hickory Street just after 11 p.m.
It wasn't long before the fire ripped through seven homes on that street.
Two others were damaged by smoke and water.
The flames were so hot, siding was melting from nearby homes.
No one was hurt but more than 10 people need to find a new place to live.
"They all, they're all my neighbors and I know every one of them and it's a hard thing to take," said Joseph Pass of Mount Carmel.
The Mount Carmel fire chief calls this one of the worst row home fires he's seen.
Jean Guinther lives in one of those houses.
"I was sitting down watching TV. They said, 'get the hell out of the house, the house is on fire!" Guinther said.
"We came down right away and we made sure that she was OK. We got her and then my cousin Cindy next door," Bobby Muldowney said.
A state police fire marshal spent most of the morning investigating what started the fire. He tells Newswatch 16 there is too much damage to figure that out but believes it started in the kitchen area of the house.
Officials say the fire started here inside a vacant home. someone had just moved out and the utilities were still turned on.
Stephen Jeffrey is Northumberland County's director of public safety. He doesn't normally come to fires but was asked to assist displaced residents.
"One of the worst fires I've seen in recent history," Jeffrey said. "Following up here this morning, making sure everybody is taken care of, especially during this cold time."
It took firefighters more than three hours to put out the fire. It rekindled Friday morning. No one was hurt but more than 10 people need to find a new place to live.
"All my ceilings are down. It's just wet. Everything's all wet in there. It's a mess," Guinther said.
"I'm happy everybody was safe and there were no casualties," Muldowney said.
Investigators do not believe the fire is suspicious.
"A lot of flames and it was just working its way right up the building. Started to catch things on sparking, getting the power lines. We basically saw a little bit in the entryways. And then it just engulfed the rest of the houses," said Shawn Rumple of Mount Carmel."
A state police fire marshal has been called in to look for what sparked those flames in Northumberland County.