BELTON, TX — Officials responded to a fire Saturday afternoon that started in one garage but then quickly spread to multiple homes and vehicles.
Belton fire was dispatched to the scene at 1:50 p.m. and arrived at 2:04 p.m. in the 4200 block of Orchard Hill, which is off of Stillhouse Lake on the outskirts of Belton.
When firefighters arrived, one garage was fully engulfed in flames. The fire spread very quickly, burning up three homes and two vehicles before it could be contained.
The department had to shut down for 20 minutes to get more water on the scene, according to officials.
"When it's one house, it's okay. But when it's three houses fully involved, it becomes difficult," said officials.
It took about 5 minutes for them to fill up and come back, said officials. They had to refill about 20 times.
Firefighters went through about 20,000 gallons of water to contain the fire.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene, including Belton fire, Morgan's Point, Troy, Salado, Central Bell and Southwest Bell Fire Departments.
The Bell County CID is investigating the scene, and the State Marshall has also been called out, said officials.
All of the houses were empty at the time, but eight people have been displaced by the fire.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
