A roaring blaze heavily damaged three houses in Summit Hill on Wednesday, leaving seven people homeless and killing four pet cats.

The fire happened shortly after 11:30 a.m. at 134-136-138 E. McMurtrie St. When firefighters arrived at the scene, heavy flames were erupting from all three porches in the front of the connected dwellings.Firefighters had water pouring on the structure within minutes upon arriving and managed to knock down the bulk of the exterior flames. But much of the damage had already occurred.The house at 138 E. McMurtrie St., where the flames were most intense, is the residence of Jim and Karen Smith and their three children, two sons ages 14 and 17, and a daughter age 16. The residence at 134 E. McMurtrie St. is occupied by Marian Pavlick and her father, Vince.The dwelling between them is empty.No one was home at the Smith house when the fire broke out. The triplex is a three-story structure.Vince Pavlick was home alone at the time and heard a popping noise. When he looked outside, he saw the flames two doors away.Initially heavy flames were climbing the front of the Smith residence. Within a few minutes, the flames had spread to the other two addresses.Three cats in the Smith house perished, but a pet dog was saved. Firefighters got one cat out of the house and efforts were made to revive it by firefighters, personnel from Lehighton Ambulance and Franklin Klock of the Carbon County Environmental Education Center.A cat inside the Pavlick house also died.Route 209, which is Pine Street and located a half-block from the scene of the blaze, was shut down for several hours in the vicinity of the emergency. Traffic was detoured by fire police from Summit Hill and Lansford.Fire departments dispatched to the scene were from Summit Hill, Lansford, Coaldale, Tamaqua, Mahoning Township and Jim Thorpe.The Lehigh and Lausanne Fire Company assisted with scene rehabilitation. Lehighton Ambulance and Mahoning Valley Ambulance personnel were also present.Summit Hill Fire Chief Shawn Hoben has requested assistance in his investigation from a state police fire marshal.Although he was not able to determine the cause of the fire, he said he doesn't feel it is suspicious.He praised the work done by the firefighters, stating they knocked the flames down quickly and worked cohesively to get the fire under control."The whole thing could have gone," he said as he stood looking at the building which was badly charred in the front with heavy structural damage, but was still standing.He was also pleased with the number of responders."For the time of day, we had a great response from all the communities," he said.The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross provided assistance to both families.