Firefighters with St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD) saved a row of three homes from extensive damage early Tuesday morning.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m. fire crews responded to a residential fire on the east end of Gower Street in the City’s downtown. When crews arrived they found smoke coming from the eaves of three attached homes. All three homes involved contained two units each, only one of which was occupied. Two people and two cats were able to escape the home unharmed.

Firefighters forced entry into all units to ensure there were no one inside, while attacking the fire from inside of one of the units. Crews used an aerial truck to access the roof, cutting multiple holes to find the fire.

Derek Hunt, Platoon Chief with SJRFD, said they located fire in an upstairs room of one of the vacant units and were able to quickly bring it under control. Crews on the roof attacked the fire from above as well, preventing the spread of fire to the other two homes. With smoke initially pouring from the eaves of all three homes, it was feared that fire damage would be extensive.

In total, crews from three fire stations responded and had the blaze under control in less than an hour. The cause of the fire is under investigation.