4 houses gone in 5 minutes: Massive fire rips through Surrey neighbourhood

A large fire completely destroyed at least four homes in Surrey's Clayton neighbourhood Wednesday night.

It started around 6:30 p.m. in the garage of a home on 73rd Avenue off 192A Street. Witnesses told CTV News they heard what sounded like multiple explosions.

"I just heard, like, a couple explosive things, back to back to back, and I came out and the house was already on fire," said Jas Sandhra, who lives in the neighbourhood.

"Within five minutes, four houses were gone," said Tim Gallo, the owner of one of the homes that caught fire. “Well, our six-year-old kind of saved us. He went out to the garage to get an ice cream and he came back inside and said 'Daddy, I see smoke.’”

Gallo, who requires crutches for an unrelated injury, managed to make it out unscathed, along with his family and pets. He says his family could be displaced for up to three or four months due to water and smoke damage to his home.

“It was the scariest thing ever," said Serena Gallo, speaking alongside her husband. "You hear about these fires in the neighbourhood and you think it’s never going to happen to you.”

Ten trucks and more than 30 firefighters tended to the scene, battling the flames well into the night.

“It came in as a garage fire when firefighters came on scene. It was a fully involved garage which quickly spread to the neighbouring houses," said Shelley Morris, deputy chief of the Surrey Fire Service. "Right now, there are the four houses that have been fully involved with fire and there’s probably three to four that have fire impingement.”

No one is believed to be injured but it's unclear if all pets made it out alive. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.