Officials still aren’t sure what caused a fire at a Kitchener condo complex that forced two families out of their homes and sent four people to hospital.

The fire started sometime around 4 a.m. Saturday on Elm Ridge Drive, in the Forest Heights neighbourhood.

Flames and smoke damaged two attached garages and four units.

Leeann Coombs lives in one of the upper units with her two daughters and fiancé.

“I heard this God-awful bang and then my girls came screaming running out of their bedroom, and they said ‘Mama, the house is on fire.’”

Neighbours also head the explosions, which they say sounded like fireworks.

“Kids were screaming,” says Maggy Olsen. “There were flames bellowing out and smoke everywhere.”

Tom Gass and his family lived in the bottom unit. He says his dog’s barking alerted him to the fire.

“If it wasn’t for Spunkie, the dog, we could have all perished.”

Eight people received medical treatment from paramedics at the scene.

Four of them were later taken to hospital where they were treated for smoke inhalation.

“Smoke alarms were working and that’s partly what alerted the people to what was going on,” says fire prevention officer Rick Brooks. “Luckily they had those smoke alarms.”

Two of the families were not able to return home, spending Saturday night in a hotel.

“Everything we have is gone,” says Hernan Monzon. “We’re insured, that’s fine. But it’s the stuff that [my fiancé] has of her family and her memories, everything is gone.”

Investigators say they haven’t been able to determine the cause of the fire. They know it started in one of the garages, before spreading to the attic, melting the vinyl siding.

“The garage was fairly loaded up with combustibles and that’s always an issue,” says Brooks.

Damage to the garages and four units has been pegged at $350,000.

With reporting by Stu Gooden