UPDATE 12/12/11 @ 8:15 p.m.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A suspicious fire in West Huntington that seriously damaged three homes early Monday morning is typical of a problem that plagues many neighborhoods in our region, fire officials tell WSAZ.com.
It started in a vacant house and spread to two adjacent homes -- one occupied and the other abandoned.
"It went up like a Roman candle," neighbor James Davis said about the fire in the 900 block of Monroe Avenue.
Davis said when he saw the roaring flames just after midnight from the vacant home on the other side of his neighbors -- the Simmons family -- he first pounded on, then broke their door down.
"I got her and her husband out and grandson out," Davis said. "Thank God, no lives were lost. It was close."
Firefighters say the blaze, which as been ruled suspicious, started in a supposedly empty house and spread to a long abandoned home. It also spread to the home of an ailing elderly couple -- Deanna and Delbert Simmons. Their home is now unlivable.
Witnesses say they saw two people running from the vacant home just before the fire started.
A former tenant of the house that first caught fire says thieves stripped the home bare after she moved out a month ago. The fire marshal looking for a cause says it's a constant city and neighborhood challenge to watch -- to condemn and tear down abandoned, unsafe and fire-prone houses.
A nearby church has a home for the Simmons family until they recover.
While there is no official word on what caused the fire, it has been ruled suspicious.
Two of the homes were vacant and one had three people inside. They all made it out safely.
It started about 12:30 a.m. In the 900 block of Monroe Avenue.
Fire crews say witnesses told them they saw people rushing out of one of the vacant homes about the time the fire started. The front door was also left open.
Firefighters say arson is suspected as a cause.
An investigation is underway to determine what started the fire.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
Crews were forced to fight the fire defensively because the fire was so intense when they first arrived, spraying water from the outside only.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
The fire was reported just after 12:30 Monday morning.
911 dispatchers tell WSAZ.com flames were showing when crews got to the scene.
There is no word on whether anyone is inside the home.
We have a crew on the scene.
Keep clicking on WSAZ.com for the latest information.
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