Early morning fire damages multiple homes in North Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Firefighters were at a home in North Philadelphia on Monday after an early morning fire broke out.

Now two families, consisting of six people, are being helped by the Red Cross.

Crews responded to the 1800 block of North 22nd Street around 5:30 a.m. after several calls came in for a fire.

They arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from a home that was quickly moving to the properties next door.

Residents in the area woke up from the commotion and went outside to see the flames.

One neighbor described hearing loud crashing noises and large flames coming from the windows.

"We kept hearing something crashing, we looked and said, 'Oh we had to get everybody out of the house,'" recalled the neighbor, Anique.

"It was horrible, it was something I never saw in my life," Anique added.

Officials evacuated neighboring homes on the block once the blaze began to spread.

The fire was placed under control around 6:15 a.m., authorities say. Crews had to return later to put out the hotspots, however.

It's unclear what caused the fire. There is no word yet on whether any injuries occurred.