'Flames to the sky': 2 families displaced after fire erupts in vacant home, spreads to neighboring residences

CHICAGO - Flames erupted inside a vacant house in Chicago Lawn Monday afternoon, quickly spreading to two neighboring residences. 

The fire caused significant damage to those homes, leaving at least two families displaced.

SkyFOX was over the scene near 69th and Rockwell at about 5:30 p.m.

A massive emergency response remained on scene for several hours.  

"Flames, I mean high flames," said neighbor Hervenia Mitchell as she described what unfolded.

"There were flames to the sky," added Joe Kulys, another neighbor.

In what felt like an instant, neighbors said the fire spread ferociously.

"I walked out there and says, ‘holy mackerel, God forbid,’" said Kulys.

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Community members said the fire started at a boarded-up house, and told FOX 32 Chicago that they believe squatters have been living there.

"I was sitting in my dining room watching TV and I just heard a lot of yelling," said Mitchell. "So I ran to the window and I looked out and I saw the vacant house on fire."

Soon, flames jumped to both neighboring homes.

"I just heard a lot of hard knocking on my door, screaming ‘get out, get out the house,’" said one woman whose home caught fire.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, and her young daughter made it out safely – thanks to neighbors with a warning that the fire was moving fast.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the home where the fire originated, another family is grappling with the devastation – but says they are grateful no one was hurt.

"I’m devastated, I’m really devastated, like, my emotions are everywhere," said one mother as she held her daughter close. ‘Anybody [who] knows me, my family is my everything, and I’m a big protector."

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.