Fire crews are still at the scene of a home in northeast Calgary that caught fire early Friday morning, watching for hotspots in the blaze that destroyed the house.

At just before 2 a.m., crews were called to the 2300 block of 50 Street N.E. and found one building fully involved with flames, with the fire spreading to another.

Flames had completely engulfed the roof and it appeared that the heat of the fire had ruptured two gas lines, which were feeding the fire.

One of the homes was unoccupied, but there were four people inside the other home. All of those occupants made it out of the home safely.

Fire officials say they aren’t sure yet if the ruptured gas lines are the cause of the fire or merely another one of the results.

“Upon arrival, both were flaring off,” says CFD Battalion Chief Al Magwood. “Of course, you have to remember with gas lines, we have to control the lines. We don’t want to extinguish them – then we’re flooding the area with natural gas. So we control the amount of damage done by the flames but still maintain the fire.”

ATCO was called in to shut off the gas lines.

Magwood says that due to the sheer volume of fire, he believes the fire must have started outside.

The landlord of the home involved in the fire says there were four to six people in the home, but luckily everyone is safely out of harm's way.

"It was a whole family, kids, the youngest about 10," said Jasdeep Gill. "They lived in the residence for six months and everything was fine."

Gill says he has insurance on the home, but he isn't sure if his tenants have renter's insurance.

He says the whole thing has been a shock to him. "I was just shocked like, I was surprised to see that. I didn't expect a call at 4:30 in the morning saying something like this had happened."

Residents who live in the area say the fire was very large, with one man saying he could see the flames reaching high into the sky from two blocks away.

From the sounds the fire was making, Tony Elliot thought there was a shootout taking place.

"I heard lots of bangs - sounded like fireworks - and there was smoke everywhere," said Elliot. "This is a hard time, people are going to be losing their houses tonight."

One of the homes is a total loss while the other sustained moderate damage to its roof and one of the rooms on the upper floor.