Firefighters battled a fire in Kissimmee Friday that engulfed two homes in smoke and flames.

The homes are on the 3700 block of Silver Lake Drive in Kissimmee.

Orange County Fire Rescue, Osceola County Fire Rescue, Kissimmee and St. Cloud fire crews all responded to the fire. 

 

It's not known yet what caused the fire. A resident who rented one of the homes said the fire happened quickly.

“The whole house was like full of smoke in like five seconds, it was crazy,” said the resident, who did not want to give her name.

Wind made the fire difficult to fight. But another problem was a lack of nearby fire hydrants.

"The access of the hydrants -- because it’s a long distance from here -- did effect our extent of reaching the fire quickly," said Osceola County Fire Division Chief of Operations Ivan Mustafa. "But remember that our apparatus come already with water, so the fire fighting efforts were already in place before the water was established.”

Residents who live in the community say the manufactured homes go up like match boxes, so every second counts.

"We have no fire hydrants on this road," said neighbor Doris Alexander. "And I have lived here, I think 17 years. And not one fire hydrant, has been put on this road.” 

One of the residents, Mary Downes, is still recovering from smoke inhalation. Neighbors set up an online fundraiser to help her.

Family of the people living in the second home that caught fire also set up a GoFundMe page

The other family did not need to be treated at the hospital. They will be staying with family in the area for now.