This is what I experienced last night:

This is the view from about five houses down at the end of the street (yeah, they photoshopped the edges, but the fire is real). Our house is across from the fence where the fire is.

This is an email I sent to my folks - edited a bit - around 5:15am this morning . . .

I woke up this morning around 3am to some people screaming for their lives. I heard some popping noise and more screaming. Screaming that really freaks you out - like someone is definitely dying. And it was all coming from outside my door. Then I heard a bunch of running upstairs and I thought my friend and landlord who lives upstairs was involved in whatever it was - that really freaked me out. I couldn't really process it. I dialed 911 and told the lady something crazy was going on outside my house - like a fight maybe. She asked what part of Sires and when I told her she said there was a fire at 21 Sires. I grabbed my dog, put on some clothes - no shoes - and then heard banging on my door - it's my friend yelling "fire!" I actually couldn't find my keys at first to open the door, so my friend ran upstairs to get his - by the time he got back I found mine and we both ran out. It was like daylight outside. And even in my house it was bright. Just bright orange everywhere. And hot. So hot. My friend said his entire bedroom was just lit up. We ran outside and watched as the biggest fire I've ever seen totally engulfed the blue house across the street - or really diagonally across the street. The house next to it then caught fire - the one directly across from us. People were screaming - when we ran out of our house we saw people running out of the burning house. A bunch of college kids. Some of them were lying in the street crying. Then the fire trucks showed up and it was pretty much mayhem. Tons of trucks and firemen. Hoses stretched down the street. Firemen breaking out windows. People still crying. Neighbors all out of their houses. Live 5 news. Ambulances. Cops.

Only three kids were truly injured - and only one was burned - amazingly. One of them broke a leg jumping out of a window.

At 5am they let us back into our house. I showered b/c I think I walked in someone's blood in the street and I smelled like smoke - and now am heading back to bed. There are still firemen all on the street. All of Sires was taped off. Spring Street was blocked off and news people were around. My landlord gave an interview. I initially thought the fire was started by a cigarette outside of the house. Anyway, it was probably the most frightening thing I've ever seen - the screaming was probably the worst thing. The fire was so huge - just raging. The house is gutted now. And it burned in like 5 minutes tops - the majority of the house. All I really learned is you better have a fire detector that works because you pretty much have no time to get out. Seriously, it is crazy how intense a house fire is. I highly recommend you getting smoke detectors for your house - today. The house directly across the street was doused with water and was saved - with the exception of everything inside the place, which is now soaked in water, and the upstairs which was burned. Anyway, that was my night.

We learned some more about the fire today. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of the house - or what remains of it - to upload. So, apparently, they think the fire was arson. Someone lit a couch on fire on the front porch of the house while everyone was sleeping.

I will say the firemen were quite impressive. They were asking repeatedly if anyone was left in the house - and they were ready to go in. And they were very organized. Fortunately, everyone managed to get out.

Coverage: Scroll down for a picture of the house after the fire was put out.

A possible arsonist?