‘They lost everything:' University City house fire causes $1M in damage

A family of five is without a home just days before Christmas after it went up in flames last Friday in the University City neighborhood of San Diego.

Firefighters battled a house fire that broke out in University City Friday afternoon.

The fire sparked at around 3:30 p.m. on Bloch Street northeast of the Interstate 5/State Route 52 interchange. SDFD said smoke was coming out of the home when firefighters arrived.

SkyRanger 7 flew over the home and saw firefighters on the roof spraying water on flames through large holes in the two-story home's roof.

SDFD said two neighboring homes were in danger of catching fire, but they were spared in the end. It took crews around 30 minutes to knock down the flames, SDFD said.

Five adult residents of the home are being assisted by the Red Cross, according to SDFD. No injuries were reported.

SDFD has not determined the cause of the fire.

Firefighters said the blaze caused an estimated $750,000 in damage to the house and $250,000 to the contents, adding up to almost $1 million in damages.

NBC 7's Adonis Albright spoke with neighbors who live next door to the house.

"I was out shopping with my friends and I get a call from my mom being like, 'Is there one thing you want me to grab from the house?' The neighbor's house is on fire … and it looks like our house is about to be engulfed in the flames," neighbor Olivia said.

Thanks to the hard work of San Diego Fire-Rescue crews, comprised of six dozen firefighters and some quick thinking from her father, Olivia's home was spared.

"I kind of was sitting in the car with my friend and I was like I think my house is about to burn down and I don't know if my neighbors are okay, I don't know if their dogs are okay," Olivia said.

Ashes are still scattered across the sidewalk and partially burned piles of clothes left in the driveway on Sunday.

"They lost their keys, their wallets, their passports, they lost everything," Olivia said.

Olivia said the neighborhood is coming together to pitch in and help the family as best they can.

With just a few days before Christmas, she says while this is a tragedy, it could have been much worse.