CLEVELAND — The four-alarm fire broke out in the 1800 block of Mannering Road at 5 p.m and took more than 80 Cleveland Firefighters to battle the blaze.
Neighbors said they heard a loud boom noise.
"All of the sudden I heard a loud explosion. I saw my neighbor on the phone saying 'get out! The house is on fire,' said Nancy Garnett-Smith. "That’s when I came out to the front porch of my neighbor's engulfed. So, I got out, not taking no chances."
Cleveland Fire Chief Angelo Calvillo said the fire started at one home on the street and then spread to 4 others. In total, 5 homes, 2 garages and 12 cars are damaged, but no one was hurt.
He said the wind made a bad situation worse.
"Whenever you get a lot of wind like this and you have a working structure fire, it really intensifies it," he said. "Sometimes, these fires, they come and we don’t control the situation but we do the best we can to mitigate the situation."
Taishawna Wright was taking a nap when she woke up to extreme heat.
"I went to turn the heat off and I went to lay back down again and I was still hot and then I went downstairs and I seen that the kitchen was on fire," she said.
Wright said that she ran outside with her two dogs behind her, but the two dogs ran back in. She had to wait for 45 minutes until the flames were under control before firefighters could go in and find her dogs.
"I cried for 45 minutes. I love my animals so losing them that’s devastating. I don't know what I would’ve done," she said.
The firefighters saved the two dogs and a cat.
The Red Cross is assisting the 14 adults and two children who are displaced.
Calvillo said investigators are working to determine a cause.
