Four homes were left completely destroyed after a massive fire ripped through an apartment building in Pembroke on Saturday.

No one was hurt in the blaze although one family lost a pet cat.

The Cedar Vale Apartments on Mount Hill were already fully engulfed in flames when the Bermuda Fire Service arrived at the scene around 5 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The entire top level of the building, which housed four of the property's five apartments, was left in ruins.

The blaze crumbled most of the structure's ceiling, blew out all of the windows and left a thick layer of soot throughout the property.

Lionel Furbert, who has been a firefighter for 14 years said: "This is the biggest residential fire I've attended during my fire service career."

Gavaska Lodge lived in one of the apartments for "several years" with his wife and two children, who are now abroad on vacation.

"I just came home to find it like this," he said, pointing to the charred debris around him. "There were a few messages left on my voicemail but I hadn't checked them."

Mr. Lodge is the owner of the M.V. Bermuda Longtail. The popular party boat was severely damaged earlier this month when it came loose from its mooring in Hamilton Harbour and ran aground on White's Island.

"I must be the unluckiest man in Bermuda right now," Mr. Lodge said yesterday. "Things could be worse though."

He added: "They [the Bermuda Fire Service] think the fire started in the apartment adjacent to mine. There was a couple that were home in one of the apartments but she was awakened by the smell of smoke and they were able to get out in time."

The Royal Gazette caught up withMr. Lodge as he attempted to salvage what he could. What was once his living room now sits under several feet of rubble. Scattered throughout are chunks of melted plastic that were once his children's toys. The heat from the blaze was so intense that it even melted the stainless steel and aluminum frame of his classic Triumph motorcycle.

"But life goes on," he said. "I am in the process of trying to find another apartment right now."

Three fire trucks, three support vehicles and 16 personnel fought the blaze for two hours using over 10,000 gallons of water before the flames were finally snuffed out, said a Bermuda Fire Service spokesman.

Because of the fire's massive size, water had to be procured from a neighbour's tank to supplement the firefighters' supply.

Kim Johnston-Burgess, a relative of one of the families affected by the fire, is appealing to the public to help them "get back on their feet".

"We would be grateful if anyone has any clothing, especially little girls' clothing as we are most concerned to get them comfortable and clothed," she said. "One child is five months and the other is four years old."

She added: "Should you have any clothing, furniture, shoes etc., that you no longer need, I would be more than grateful to accept them on their behalf. Should anyone wish to make a monetary contribution to help get them started, that would be greatly appreciated as well, and I will ensure that the family receive it. They were able to retrieve just a few little bags of clothes, but everything else was totally destroyed. They also lost the family cat in the fire."

• Anyone wishing to help can e-mail Ms Johnston-Burgess at kjburgess@wq.bm.