Friday, July 23, 2010 Pat Kaplan sat on her neighbor's front porch Thursday afternoon and watched as firefighters doused her fire-ravaged home with water.

Wiping away tears, she said she was glad her daughter made it out of the house OK but lamented the loss of her family photos, her mother's ashes and the new clothes she'd bought for her new job.

"They're still in there with the tags on," she said. "You never think it's going to happen to you."

The blaze started at noon at the home at 5208 Bathley Place and quickly spread to the left and right, claiming three houses in all. No one was seriously injured, but two dogs and two cats died when the home where the fire started burned down, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a spokesman for the Virginia Beach Fire Department.

It was unclear Thursday evening what started the fire. Investigators are working to determine the cause.

Christopher Smith said he was working from his home down the street when his lights flickered. He looked outside to see flames rising above the rooftops.

A group of neighbors from the Ridgely Manor development off Wesleyan Drive tried to put out the fire with garden hoses, said Terry Cabrar, who lives around the corner.

"It went up so quick, it was incredible," he said.

Soon after, nearly 40 firefighters and 11 fire trucks descended on the scene. It took them an hour and 10 minutes to get the flames under control.

With temperatures rising to the mid-90s, supervisors worried about the risk of heat exhaustion. So a group of medics set up shop between two homes nearby, offering workers water, fans and ice-soaked towels.

"When it gets into the 90s, you know it's going to be taxing," said fire Capt. Van Rutherford as he recovered with his crew. "It takes more out of you."

One firefighter suffered a hand injury and went to a nearby hospital for X-rays, Riley said.

Three families were displaced. One was out of town at the time of the blaze, Riley said. They all owned their homes, so their insurance should help with shelter and relocation costs, he said. Riley estimated the damage to the three houses at more than $1 million.

A neighbor offered to let Kaplan and her family stay at her house.

"I've got no clothes. All my medications... all the pictures," she said. "I'm happy, of course, that my daughter came out, but I'm like one of those people that's attached to my things."