Investigators probe cause of north Phoenix house fire

PHOENIX - Investigators are working to pin down what sparked a house fire in north Phoenix.

Local perspective:

Firefighters rushed to 40th Street and Cactus Road around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday morning to put out the flames.

"Heard an enormous boom. My dogs started going off. The window of the room I was in, I was looking out and could see the house next door to me is just billowing out of flames and smoke," a next-door neighbor said.

The next-door neighbor said she watched the flames spread quickly.

"I looked to the front yard and I could see more smoke, more flames. The glass has been shattered out of the front windows. I mean it’s a crazy scene," she said.

Another neighbor nearby caught the scene from the road on the back side of the home.

"I saw a raging fire, and then I saw some guy jump out of a car and run as fast as he could across the street down this gully thing and pretty much scale the wall," the neighbor said. "He just said he was a concerned citizen."

Dig deeper:

Scott Douglas with the Phoenix Fire Department explained how the intense heat affects the structure.

"A fire can cause a window to fail, if there’s a fire inside or outside of that window and there’s enough heat impingement on that window, it can fail. The sound of glass could sound like an explosion or there could have been an explosion. I’m not sure," Douglas said.

Fire officials confirmed no one was hurt. After crews put out the flames, the property owner and tenants were left assessing what was lost.

Ron Barbala, a homeowner renting out the property, described the aftermath.

"There’s nothing to save in that resort. It’s gone," Barbala said. "Everything inside is definitely gone and there’s not much outside. Barbala added, "It’s a total loss so it’s a full rebuild."

What's next:

Fire investigators are now working to determine the cause.

PhoenixNews