Authorities: Discarded fireworks caused Cary house fire on July 4

Deputy Fire Chief Michael Martin of the Cary Fire Department said used fireworks weren't correctly discarded. The fire was determined to be accidental, he said.

The fire at 104 Lakeway Court was reported at about 11 p.m.

"I came outside, and everything was on fire," said neighbor Javier Guevara, who recorded video of the fire on his cellphone. "It was exploding, exploding."

Even from across the street, Guevara and other neighbors said they could feel the heat of the fire and hear the wailing of a car horn as vehicles underneath the burning garage caught fire.

"The fire was all in the carport. The cars were on fire," neighbor Emalyne Catching said.

The windows of cars blew out from the heat, and panels of the garage's roof were destroyed.

Catching said her son woke up two people sleeping inside the home.

"He went over and knocked on the door to get them out," she said.

Guevara said Jeffrey Holshouser, the man who lives in the burning home, could be heard in the cellphone video urging firefighters to save the house.

"I feel bad for him. You can hear him yelling, 'Get my roof!'" Guevara said. "Must be helpless, I imagine. He was all burned, and they checked up on him, and they took him immediately to the hospital."

Holhouser suffered first- and second-degree burns on his arm and leg and was being treated Friday at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

A hydrant next to the home has an "out of service" sign hanging on it, so firefighters had to turn on other hydrants in the neighborhood while battling the blaze.

Cary police said Holshouser hit the hydrant with his car on June 13 and was charged with driving while impaired.

Martin said the broken hydrant didn't cause an "excess delay" in working the fire, as firefighters were able to use water carried in their trucks while connecting to a working hydrant down the street.