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INDIANAPOLIS — Four adults are without a home after a fire damaged two houses on the north side of downtown Indianapolis Wednesday morning.

Just before 11 a.m., firefighters were called to a fire at 1005 West 32nd Street, in between I-65 and Crown Hill Cemetery. Multiple witnesses called 911 to report heavy smoke that could be seen for miles.

When the Indianapolis Fire Department arrived, two houses were on fire.

Steve Howard, a 68-year-old Vietnam veteran, and his sister lived in one of the houses. IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith says Howard told her that he did not have insurance on the house, as he just recently had to decide between paying for insurance or his medical bills, and chose to pay for his medical needs.

The fire spread to the house next door, where two elderly women lived. They were not home at the time of the fire, but their house was also heavily damaged.

It took firefighters about two hours to get the fire under control. Reith believes a space heater too close to some objects caused the fire.