Fire bloomed alongside the flowers at 1221 Glenn St. this morning as the house on the property went up in flames.

The fire at the home of William and Lily Helms started around 1:15 this morning. The two-story clapboard house has welcomed visitors through the city’s garden tour in the past.

The crowd was a much more sobering one in the wee hours as Newberry City firefighters responded and called for backup from the Friendly and Prosperity fire departments.

Newberry Fire Chief Keith Minick said to reach the top of the large home, the ladder truck was called to the scene.

The fire swept through the home, totally destroying it.

A neighboring brick home also caught the blaze with fire spreading into the ductwork at 1223 Glenn St. Once the fire was in the brick home next door, it spread through the interior walls of the house.

No one was injured in the two house fires. One of the families is staying in a hotel and the other with family members. Both families are being assisted by Red Cross, according to Minick.

Firefighters remained on the scene until after 9 a.m., along with police blocking Glenn Street from Main to Harrington streets.

While still on the scenes of the fires, Minick said firefighters would go back to the station and regroup. They will return to the scene later today to try to determine a cause for the fires.

While still assisting with the Glenn Street fire, Prosperity firefighters, along with the Saint Phillips Fire Department, responded to a fire at Carol Wicker's Garage on Jollystreet Road.

Once there, they discovered a fire had destroyed a small greenhouse and shed on the property.

No cause of the 4 a.m. fire has been determined.

City firefighters were also called this morning to a gasoline spill at a local Lil’ Cricket on Kendall Road. Two to three gallons of gas had been spilt and the firefighters assisted with the cleanup.