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Massive fire damages two homes in Kirkland

A massive house fire in Kirkland’s Totem Lake neighborhood jumped from one house to the next, displacing nine people as it caused extensive damage Wednesday morning.

“By 9:10, there was smoke pouring into my bedroom and I looked up and there was just a ton of smoke,” Patrick McCumber said. “My first reaction was, ‘Oh my god.’”

McCumber had just woken up. He ran out of the home.

“There was fire all in the back of the house so I couldn’t run through it all,” he said.

He let his dog, Auggie, out of the backyard. McCumber said he and a neighbor realized the fire was growing quickly and could jump to the next door neighbor’s, so they started knocking.

Mayra Sanchez said her father woke her up after getting the warning.

“I was really shocked,” she said. “It was surreal to have to run out.”

Sanchez said six people live at the home, but only she, her younger brother, and her dad were home at the time.

“I was actually pretty scared,” she said. “But I was really thankful that I could have my family out in time.”

Neighbors said the fire jumped quickly.

“All of a sudden, I saw flames at the other house,” Linda Hamm said.

McCumber said the neighborhood also jumped into action.

“Within five minutes, I swear, ten families were her helping us out, making sure that we were all right,” he said.

The damage to McCumber’s home is extensive. The outside of Sanchez’s home was also damaged, and she described water and insulation from the ceiling littering the ground inside.

“I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to look for a hotel now to stay because it's six of us,” Sanchez said. “We're not sure—but we have a lot of support from the community and families.”

McCumber said it is tough to lose memories and valuables, but he realizes it could have been much worse.

“You see a fire like that and you just expect someone to get hurt,” he said. “We’re so lucky nothing like that happened.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Watch raw video from Chopper 7 below

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