Neighbors are breathing a sigh of relief after an out of control brush fire threatened more than a dozen homes.

Firefighters battled the flames near Howell's Ferry Road in Semmes for more than an hour Tuesday morning. "It was gushing when I first saw it," said Daisie West, who watched as the property behind her home was completely burned. "All I could see was the fire coming this way because the wind was blowing this way," said West.

West, her sister and her daughter-in-law grabbed garden hoses, hoping to keep the flames away from their house. Another neighbor, Nathan Viles, said he just wanted to get away. "I just grabbed my stuff and got out of there," said Viles. "I don't care about the mobile home or nothing like that," he said.

Brent McNele of the Semmes Volunteer Fire Department says crews used 2,000 gallons of water to get the fire under control.  Nearly 20 acres burned, but no homes were damaged.