RALEIGH, N.C. — Fire tore through a North Raleigh condominium complex early Saturday afternoon, damaging four homes. One firefighter was hurt battling the flames.

People who live at the Sandy Creek condominium complex

on Newton Road near Six Forks Road

believe the fire, which consumed the four units contained in one building, sounded as fierce as it looked.

"I was in my house this morning and I heard a real loud sound," said neighbor Irene Nears. "I said to my husband, 'It sounds like a bomb.'"

Michelle Rufus was all the way across the street.

"All of a sudden, we heard an explosion and that scared us," said Rufus. "So we pulled over at the store parking lot to see if we could get a better look to see what was happening over here."

It took about 45 firefighters nearly 40 minutes to get the fire under control. One of them suffered minor steam burns and was taken to WakeMed.

"There were too many fire trucks," said Nears. "I couldn't believe what was happening. I've never seen something like this in my development."

While no one else was injured, the building was badly damaged. The townhome-style houses at Sandy Creek are owned, but there are plenty of people who rent, like Rufus. Just last week, she and her family talked about getting renters insurance.

"After today, we're definitely going to look into it next week and try to get some," said Rufus.