ORLANDO, Fla. – A brush fire was started in Orlando Wednesday afternoon by what officials believe may have been a blown transformer or a downed power line.
"(I) just heard a loud explosion behind one of the houses and I came outside and there was fire everywhere," said Maria Susino, who lives on the street.
Emergency crews quickly evacuated people who live on Hummingbird Lane.
"I was scared. My kids were scared," Susino said. "They ran out quickly. I called 911 (and) the fire department got here pretty quick."
One resident said she was doing her laundry in her backyard when she heard multiple explosions nearby.
"I heard a boom," the woman said. "My kids asked me what happened. I said, 'I don't know,' and then I heard another one, and I was like, 'This can't be real.'"
That's when she said she rushed over next door and helped an elderly neighbor get out safe.
"I got out of the house and I started knocking on doors and got whoever I could out," the woman said. "Their fence was melting as soon as it happened. The heat and the wind (was) blowing toward the fence."
"It's possibly a down power line or a transformer that blew in the neighborhood which started the fire," Battalion Chief Lee Reed said.
Emergency crews said the fire spread quickly to nearly 3 acres, the wind fueling the flames, creeping dangerously close to the homes in the neighborhood.
"Had we not been on the scene as quickly as we could and got water
to the fire, we could of had a very bad experience," Reed said.
Crews said they will be out in the neighborhood overnight keeping an eye out for any hot spots.