Fire marshals strap on their boots to investigate a Norwood fire that may leave several families homeless temporarily. (Photo by Alex Kratz)

At about 9:45 a.m. this morning, Ashley Santiago looked out the window of her apartment on the corner of Gun Hill Road and Rochambeau Avenue and saw fire raining down from the sky.

“My mom told me, ‘Look, there’s fire coming down from the sky,'” she said, two hours later.

Dressed in shorts and a tank top, the 18-year-old grabbed her wallet, cell phone and keys and ran out of the building, 3504 Rochambeau Ave., along with the her mother, aunt and two dogs. On the way out, one of the dogs, Nena, a Rottweiler-Pit Bull mix, ran back up the stairs, forcing Santiago to run after her and corral her before she made it up to the fifth floor where a fire had engulfed a corner apartment.

Santiago’s family and every other resident, including two teenagers who were in the apartment where the fire erupted, made it out of the building in plenty of time, but damage from the fire may leave several families homeless, at least temporarily.