LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A two-alarm fire destroyed a vacant home in Louisville's west end Tuesday morning and damaged three others.

According to Louisville Division of Fire Major Bobby Cooper, the fire started around 6 a.m. on South 38th Street, not far from Southern Avenue and the Shawnee Expressway.

Charly Johnson lost the home she shares with her two sons and their dog in the fire. "It just happened so fast," she said. 

She woke up to neighbor's dog barking. When she saw the flames, Johnson rushed her family and dog out of the house to safety.

"We could feel the heat. As I turned around, it was blazing so hard it looked like that whole top was burning. I'm going to say that's probably when it started coming toward my house," she said.

When firefighters arrived, they found heavy flames coming from the front of the one-story house. It took 70 firefighters nearly an hour to put out the flames.

Two nearby homes sustained extensive damage. A fourth home had minor damage to the siding.

Johnson said her family has lived in the home since 1995. They lost lots of pictures, keepsakes and memories in the fire.

"This is our family home. My mother owns this home. We have all our memories in here. It's not about material things. This is our family home, like memories," she said. "All those memories are in our home. We'll never get those back."

No one was hurt. Louisville Fire Arson Investigators are determining the cause of the fire.

Johnson said she is frustrated about fires in vacant homes in the area. There is speculation that a squatter may have started the fire.

"We've been having fires in our neighborhood where people are just going into these abandoned homes and they're trying to stay warm and I just feel like it just gets out of control," she said. "Somebody has to be accountable, whether it's the city that owns these homes or the landlords, because it's affecting people who live in homes.”

The American Red Cross is helping those displaced by the fire. but Johnson said Christmas won't be the same. 

"It's around the holidays. It's like the worst time ever," Johnson said. "We're just waking up tomorrow. One day at a time."

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