INDIANAPOLIS -- Three houses were damaged in a fire on Indianapolis' near-east side early Friday morning.
The fire started around 3 a.m., at a house on the 1100 block of N. Hamilton Avenue. It then spread to houses on both the north and south sides of the first house.
The main house -- where the fire started -- has been vacant for 10 years. But a family of three lived in the house to south. That family is a 39-year-old man, a 65-year-old woman and a 5-year-old boy. All three evacuated with no injury. Two dogs also lived in that house, who are OK.
The house to the north is occupied by a family of four: a 49-year-old woman, a 21-year-old man, a 23-year-old woman and a 2-year-old child. They all evacuated from the house safely. The family three pets are also OK.
A neighbor woke up when a passerby honked her horn. The neighbor went to both houses and woke up the residents.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The total damage to all three houses was estimated at $110,000.
