HOUSTON -- The American Red Cross has stepped in to help more than a dozen families whose homes were damaged in a west Houston apartment fire, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Fourteen units were either damaged or destroyed in the two-alarm fire at the Charleston Apartments on Dairy Ashford Street near Ashford Meadow Drive at about 1 p.m.

Investigators said the flames spread quickly and they had to call for more help.

Residents could only watch as the fire spread from apartment to apartment. Some lost everything they owned.

The American Red Cross gave the families money for food, clothing and medicine. It is also helping families find new places to stay.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.