Fire crews are at the scene cleaning up after an early morning fire in northeast Calgary damaged several homes.

At about 3:30 a.m., crews were called to the area of Coventry Hills for reports of a fire.

When they got there, they immediately called a second alarm.

Once the fire was finally out, two garages were completely destroyed with six others damaged. Five homes were also damaged, two of them severely.

Officials tell CTV that during the course of fighting the blaze, they had to be careful because of the number of combustible materials inside at least one of the garages.

"There were some explosions that took place within the garages that were on fire," says Battalion Chief John Cherweniuk. "We're unsure what it was at this time - it could have been paint cans, it could have been anything."

The families in the five affected homes all got out safely and no one was injured.

Cherweniuk says that the home that was closest to the fire sustained the most damage and its unlikely the family who lives there will be able to return anytime soon. "One of the homes sustained significant damage because of the radiant heat because it was so hot. A few of the homes were unoccupied at the time."

Neighbours in the area say they were woken up by a large explosion and bright light outside their window.

Within minutes, they saw flames spread from one garage to the next, consuming the structures and destroying the contents, cars and all, inside.

"I think it's kind of like, everyone's in shock and then everybody's calmed and then it really hits," says Marlene Irving. "I think that's where we're at right now. I think people are starting to realize how much damage. I mean, the one house is in really rough shape, we don't know what will happen with that."

Crews remain on scene to monitor hot spots until an investigation can begin.