BRANTFORD -- A fire that damaged several townhomes in Brantford is now being considered suspicious.

Fire crews were called to the scene on Grey Street around 6 a.m Monda, and found the 12 residences engulfed by flames.

"I saw the glow in the sky," said John Ferraccioli, who lives nearby. "It was unbelievable."

Another neighbour, Maria Poremba, was woken up by her dog barking. She says her daughter called 911.

"She kind of said to them, 'believe me you're not going to miss it', because that's how high the flames were shooting."

Ferraccioli adds the flames were at least 100 feet high.
 
"The amount of water they pumped on that fire wasn't even putting a damper on it," he said. "They pumped water for quite some time."
 
Some of the units were severely damaged and others destroyed, but a damage estimate has not yet been released.
 
Rose Miutillo lives next door and had family over for Thanksgiving.
 
"I opened my drapes and my bedroom window and the glass shattered, and then I see the fire and all I could think of was getting my son and my two grandkids out of here," she said. "If the wind had of been going this way I swear every house on this block would've been gone because of the flames, it was just unbelievable."
 
No injuries have been reported in connection to the fire that saw four stations and 21 firefighters respond.
 
"Fire crews were on scene throughout the day to maintain the scene and make sure hotspots were put out," said Todd Binkley, Brantford Fire Chief. "Fire crews immediately set up master streams from our aerial devices and pumpers, and the fire was actually under control by approximately 6:48 a.m."
 
The homes were still under construction and already sold, with a move in date of early 2022.
 
A time for when the destroyed units will be rebuilt remains unclear, but the property has been handed back over to the owner.

Brantford Police cleared the scene Monday night.

The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is now assisting police with the crimminal investigation.

Clean up is set to begin Wednesday and last a few days.

With reporting from CTV Kitchener's Natalie Van Rooy