AURORA | An Aurora firefighting crew just happened to be driving nearby a house fire Monday night, allowing a crew to begin fighting the fire even as calls for help began pouring into dispatchers, city fire officials said.

The crew was driving Engine 8 west on East Alameda Avenue near Interstate 225 at about 7:15 p.m. “when they noticed a column of smoke in the air and drove toward it to investigate the source,” Aurora Fire and Rescue Eric Hurst said in a statement.

As they rolled up the 11500 block of East Alaska Avenue, they saw two homes on fire. That’s when callers started phoning 911 to report it.

They immediately began to douse the flames, Hurst said. “That action also prevented the lesser involved home from sustaining more damage.”

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The blaze was out within about 20 minutes, officials said. Still one home sustained major damage from the blaze and the second home sustained major damage.

Officials said that seven people living in the two homes were displaced by the blaze, and the Red Cross was assisting them.

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