Crews battled a fire in East Liverpool on Thursday afternoon that destroyed one vacant home and badly damaged two others

The fire broke out at West Seventh and Jefferson streets and all of the homes are vacant, officials said.

East Liverpool Fire Chief William Jones said the fire started in the center of a home and quickly spread, but crews weren’t aware of the blaze until a man drove to the fire station to tell them.

Jones said he saw smoke at the fire station, and residents in the area said they could see smoke billowing from the homes on Route 7 coming into town and as far north as Calcutta.

"I just got off work and I could see smoke from Calcutta, so it's a good distance away. It looked like it was in the middle of town so I hurried home to make sure I didn't leave the coffee pot on or nothing,” said Paul Heffner.

As of 5 p.m., utility companies were at the scene but it was not clear if there were any utilities working in the homes.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.  Stay with NEWS9, WTOV9.com and WTOV9 Mobile for continuing coverage.