The Cleveland Division of Fire is investigating what caused a house fire that left eight people displaced on Friday morning.
The fire completely destroyed a duplex and seriously damaged another home on East 114th Street.
The flames also blew out the windows at an apartment complex next door to the duplex.
No one was hurt.
Mark Smith, 59, has lived across the street from the duplex for his entire life.
He said he ran outside to see the flames after his daughter woke him up around 7 a.m.
"As soon as I opened my door, you could feel the heat," Smith said.
"It was already big," he said. "But the wind picked up a little bit and it was like a monster."
Cleveland firefighters said they faced multiple challenges while battling the flames, including frozen fire hydrants and mechanical issues on a ladder truck.
Over 10 crews responded, one of which lit road flares to thaw the fire hydrants, Cleveland Fire said.
The fire was under control within an hour, but they were unable to save the duplex. It was a $325,000 loss, Cleveland Fire said.
Smith said the flames moved so fast and grew so big that he doesn't believe the duplex could have been saved.
"I'm still trying to wrap my head around the power of it," he said. "It's a pretty big house and within an hour [it was] gone. There's nothing left."
The Red Cross responded to assist the eight displaced adults, Cleveland Fire said.
