Residents have described the dramatic moment when flames from a garden shed began to spread to nearby properties on a quiet street in Calverton.
Cynthia Roland, 65, who lives next to the property, said the "intense" blaze burnt through her wooden fencing and even set fire to her clothes line full of washing.
The incident happened on Monday, May 27, in Pepper Road.
Mrs Roland said: "I was sitting having a coffee and doing my crossword in the living room when I felt my neck getting warm.
"I thought 'that can't be the sun' and I turned around and my next door neighbour's shed was well ablaze and it was going into their house.
"You could tell it was intense because it has scorched my back door and window. I was worried about my house because the clothes line caught fire with a full line of clothes.
"The fire service turned up quickly. It was a big fire."
Fire investigators were at the scene on Tuesday, May 28, combing through burnt items in the garden including the charcoaled remains of garden chairs.
On Tuesday, the downstairs and upstairs windows at the back of the property were boarded up.
Neighbours on the street said the house is owned by a family and that no one was injured in the blaze.
Former miner Ray Jarvis, 86, who has lived in the area since the 1950s, said he heard an explosion before the fire took hold.
He said: "I saw the smoke and I thought at first it was someone burning rubbish and then all of a sudden it started to increase and then I saw flames.
"The flames were so high. I went out to have a look and all the fencing had gone.
"We heard an explosion and then I saw the house was on fire. It was the kitchen.
"I have a concrete wall so it could not get to us. It was so intense."
Kate Pettit, 80, who has lived on the street for 45 years, said: "I saw the fire engine come and I saw all the smoke at the back of the house.
"There was a lot of smoke because it was blowing over. I just stayed in my house. They put tape across the street and there was plenty of people outside."
Maralyn Keyes, 70, who has lived on the street for 40 years, added: "There was quite a few fire engines.
"My neighbour said it was a shed fire, and that her husband tried to put it out but it was out of control. It was more at the back of the house than the front."
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said that crews from Arnold and Blidworth were called to the scene in Pepper Road.
They used two hose reels and two breathing apparatus.
The fire was put out at around 3.30pm.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
