HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Two Holyoke families are searching for a place to sleep tonight after a late-night fire tore through their homes. The flames broke out just before midnight on Newton Street, starting in a vacant building before spreading to homes next door.

Screaming, loud knocking on doors. That’s how neighbors here on Newton Street knew something was terribly wrong — just before midnight.

One resident we spoke with captured this video, John Ortiz said he watched as the fire spread from an empty building to his relatives’ apartment. You can see the flames shooting from the roof. The fire started at 115 Newton Street — quickly making its way over to 117, the apartment where Ortiz’s relatives live, “we were worried because, of course, we didn’t see her aunt at the moment, one of our family members. And when we found out she was okay, she was on the outside with her husband at the other end of the street.”

Holyoke Fire Captain David Rex said the biggest challenge was the way these older buildings are built, and for anyone living in an older apartment building — this is worth knowing. Captain Rex said the apartments share a connected attic space, which acted like a tunnel — letting the fire move from one home to the next. He said last night’s blaze was probably the 6th fire he’s responded to on Newton Street during his time on the department, “unfortunately, those four addresses share a common attic. So once the fire got into the cockloft, it was off to the races for us.”

Captain Rex also said eight to ten people are now displaced. The Red Cross is currently helping those two families find a temporary place to stay. One firefighter was treated for minor injuries but has already been released.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Tonight, two families are starting over — and Captain Rex said as long as these older buildings share connected attics, this is a story Holyoke will keep telling. Ortiz said he has a theory on what may have started it — we’ll have more on that tonight at 6.