Updates a story posted Thursday at 2:29 p.m.

HOLYOKE — John P. Flathers was about to celebrate his birthday at home at 416 Pleasant St. Thursday when a neighbor shouted the building was on fire.

Flames were flickering out all three floors of the two-family building before firefighters controlled the blaze by about 2:45 p.m., Fire Department Lt. Thomas G. Paquin said.

No one was injured, but four people lost their homes and the building was a complete loss, said Paquin, despite the efforts of Flathers.

"We had just gotten back from shopping for a gift for me at the mall and I was in the bathroom and my downstairs neighbor came up and said, 'Johnny, call the Fire Department, call the Fire Department.' I tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher," said Flathers, but he said the blaze overwhelmed him.

"Happy birthday," said Flathers, a resident there for seven years, who turned 43.

John P. Flathers

The building at Pleasant and Allyn streets had two floors occupied and an attic. One person lived on the first floor and three on the second floor. It had an assessed value of $151,700, was built around 1880 and is owned by Philip Theriault, Paquin said.

A cause of the fire has yet to be determined. A police officer in a passing cruiser reported the blaze at 1:58 p.m., Paquin said.

"By the time we got here, flames were showing on all three floors," he said.

Bystanders crowded lawns across from the fire and aimed smartphones at the smoky building to take photos. The air was filled with the roar of fire truck engines and firefighters wielding saws to cut through the building's roof.

FIrefighters toting heavy coats and other gear were showered in sweat, sitting on truck bumpers or on the street to rest and guzzle Gatorade and water.

"It's unbearable," Fire Department Inspector Jordan Lemieux said.

"Hot day," firefighter Thomas Colon said.