A fire in Nesconset left dozens without a home just a few days before the start of the holidays.

Fire officials say they received a call about the fire around 2:45 p.m. Friday. Thankfully, no people were hurt. At least two dozen units are impacted.

Christopher Chapman and his wife Laurie smelled smoke while inside their Avalon Commons apartment.

"We ended up hearing a knock, you know, people were like, 'Fire! Fire! Get out! Get out!' So that’s exactly what we did,” said Christopher Chapman.

Nesconset Fire Department 2nd Assistant Chief Chris Zarnitz said at least 10 departments and more than 70 firefighters raced to put out the fast-moving flames.

"We had fire on the first and second floor of apartment 187,” said Zarnitz. “We had full volume fire going right up to the roof line and started extending to the left and to the right.”

Michael Scinto was coming back home to his apartment in the complex when he saw the fire.

"It spread like wildfire,” he said. "You could see that the flames were shooting through the sky. I mean shooting through the sky. And I feel so bad for people at this time of the year."

As for the Chapmans, they lost everything and their cat is still missing, but they're trying to remain upbeat.

"The main thing is that everybody got out safely and nobody got hurt. You can replace things, but you can't replace people,” said Laurie Chapman.

The Red Cross is offering assistance to anyone in need after the fire. Call 877-RED-CROSS for more information.

A cause for the fire is under investigation.