GOSHEN — Goshen firefighters spent more than three hours and 150,000 gallons of water battling a large fire early Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called to 425 N. Fifth St., near the S.R. 15 train overpass, at 5:06 a.m. Battalion Chief Rick Kauffman said he could see the fire as they left the Central station a few blocks away.

A passerby called 911. One house was fully involved and a second at 427 N. Fifth St. was on fire as well. Firefighters kept the blaze from overtaking a third house to the south.

The house at 425 N. Fifth St. is gone and the one to the north will have to be taken down, Kauffman said.

“It was one of the bigger ones I’ve seen,” Kauffman said of the blaze. There was just enough wind to make battling the fire difficult. Firefighters cleared the scene at 8:22 a.m.

Ron Davidhizar, who owns a number of properties in Goshen and is a sometimes controversial landlord, owns all three properties. The houses were vacant, according to Kauffman and a Goshen Police report.

Thirteen firefighters on duty fought the fire and four off-duty were called in to help, Kauffman said.

The fire is under investigation, but the cause may be difficult to determine, according to Kauffman.

The houses were around 100 years old, Kauffman said.