A suspected barbeque or garden fire lit on the hottest day on record in the U.K. spread before engulfing and destroying nearby houses.

Four homes were destroyed Tuesday after the fire spread rapidly and tore through properties in Woodland Drive in Barnsley, England, within minutes.

Another house nearby was badly damaged while gardens have been damaged by the inferno.

It is believed the fire started when children living at one of the pre-fab houses started a fire between the garden shed and the boundary fence just after 3:30 p.m.

Heroic neighbors fought the flames with a hose and rescued residents as they waited for the fire brigade to arrive as crews were tied up elsewhere.

CCTV footage shows smoke emerging from the scene before flames quickly take hold and the inferno spreads.

A man in a house can be seen trying to fight back the flames with a hose or bucket.

Later, a woman from the house can be seen frantically pacing the street as she appears to shout for help.

Dramatically, the fire spreads and the camera cuts off as the UPVC conservatory frame the camera is sat on melts under the intense heat.

Carl Fox, whose CCTV captured the beginning of the blaze, said he was "five or 10 minutes" from losing his house.

Fox, who was at work at the time, said his house was saved because heroic neighbors had removed a fence panel to get access to his yard to help dampen the fire.

"The first thing I knew about it was when of the neighbors rang my video doorbell," he said.

"I rushed home from work and some neighbors had lifted a fence panel out to get them out of the houses and start getting a hosepipe on the fire.

"That stopped it spreading and saved our house because left a 6-foot gap between wooden fence panels that it had taken hold of.

"Luckily we went for concrete posts when we had the fence panels put in."

Fox's yard was ravaged by the fire but his house was spared. Assessing the damage on Wednesday morning, he added: "We were five or 10 minutes from losing our house."

Near neighbor Andrew Love, 56, was one of the first locals on the scene to try to help.

"I was washing the wheels of my car and I saw the smoke and I thought someone had started a barbeque," he said.

"I looked up and could see the flames coming through the privet.

"I rang the fire brigade and they were busy fighting other fires.

"As far as I know, everybody got out ok."

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident as it tried to deal with a number of fires across the region as Britain baked in 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) heat.

The service tweeted this morning to remind people not to start fires in their yards.

It said: "So it's a bit cooler, but still incredibly dry out there. Please help us: Don't have a garden bonfire. Just don't. Leave the BBQs at home. Anonymously report anyone starting fires."

Produced in association with SWNS.

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.

Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters