SAN ANTONIO — A woman followed the smell of smoke Friday afternoon and discovered the house behind her caught fire.
It happened in the Candlewood Park neighborhood on the far northeast side.
The home was vacant at the time. Fire officials said the renters just moved out last week.
Neighbors tell KENS 5 there was a showing at the house for potential renters just hours before.
Around 3:45 p.m., five different fire departments responded to a home in the 3800 block of Candlestone Drive after receiving reports of a structure fire.
Neighbors say shortly after the fire started, they received an unexpected knock at their door.
"Ran out here to see what was going on," said one neighbor, who did not wish to be identified. "I noticed all the smoke billowing out from across the street."
He said in the moments before fire crews arrived, neighbors took action.
"They started trying to put out the fire with their water hose the best they could," he recalled. "The wind slightly picked up and when it picked up, just the flames coming from the front right there started shifting over to the neighbor's."
Fire personnel from Bexar County ESD 10, Bexar County ESD 11, Converse, China Grove and Bexar-Bulverde lined up along Candlestone Drive. Bexar County Sheriff's deputies helped close off nearby streets as crews worked to extinguish the fire.
"With the heat we need extensive resources to make sure everybody's safe," said Robert Hogan, Fire Chief of Bexar County ESD 10.
In scorching summer heat when it's near triple digits, Chief Hogan said operations will be lengthened a bit.
"Normally the guys are inside for 30 minutes. Of course with the heat sometimes that extends it out to where they can only be in for 15 or 20 minutes."
No neighboring homes were damaged and no firefighters were injured.
The fire damage is estimated at $40,000.
This is an ongoing investigation. KENS 5 will update this story as more information becomes available.