County firefighters were called to the 1200 block of Viking Drive South in the Foxmoor community at just before 1:15 a.m., said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a county Fire Department spokesman.

Crews found the single-family home almost entirely on fire and the siding melting off the two houses on either side of it, Chief Tobia said. The residents of all three homes had escaped before firefighters arrived and were not injured.

It took 32 firefighters about an hour to get the flames under control, Chief Tobia said. A 50-year-old firefighter suffered exhaustion and was taken by ambulance to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Parole, he said.

The fire caused $750,000 in damage to the three homes and an older model Mercedes. The cause is under investigation, Chief Tobia said.

The man living at the home that caught fire, identified by neighbors as Aaron Sheppa, was displaced and is being assisted by the American Red Cross. His neighbors were able to return to their homes this morning.

Mr. Sheppa was awakened by breaking glass, followed by blaring smoke alarms, Chief Tobia said.

Lt. Mike Kennedy, a county fire investiga-tor who lives on Viking Drive South, alerted Mr. Sheppa's next-door neighbor of the blaze, while his wife ran to Nick Lundskow's home next door to make sure he got out.

Mr. Lundskow, new media editor for www.HometownAnnapolis.com, was already up and about 5 feet from the front door when the woman knocked, he said. He said he woke up after the motion-light on his back deck turned on. He saw an orange glow and jumped up to see what was outside.

"By the time I got to the window, I could see my neighbor's deck was on fire," he said.

Mr. Lundskow ran downstairs and heard Lt. Kennedy's wife "pounding on the door."

"She told me Aaron was out of the house," he said. "I had the idea of grabbing my hose, which is close to his house. By the time I got outside, the back of the house was already burning. Within a few seconds the windows started to pop. The fire spread remarkably fast."

Mr. Lundskow said he was concerned the fire would spread to his home, which sits about 30 feet from Mr. Sheppa's house.

"The hottest part of the fire was closest to my house," he said.

He said when firefighters arrived, crews first turned their attention to his house, and then to the home on the other side of Mr. Sheppa's house.

"The siding on both our houses started to melt," he said. "(Mr.) Sheppa's house was fully involved and already looked to be a total loss."

Chief Tobia said firefighters fought hard to keep the fire from extending to the surrounding homes.

Residents of the Viking Drive South cul-de-sac grouped together, snapping pictures and checking on one another as crews battled the blaze this morning.

"All these (fire) trucks were jammed in here," Mr. Lundskow said.

This morning, the street was quiet. Mr. Sheppa's house sat black and charred, with only the garage intact.

Mr. Lundskow said he hadn't gotten much sleep, saying that having such an event right next door was pretty unsettling.

"You cover these things for years and years, and you don't think it's going to happen to you," he said.