PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) – Earl Cook thanked God, while neighbor Brian Tweedly stood a few feet away wrapped in a donated blanket as firefighters poured water over the charred rubble of his stepfather’s office.

The random devastation from a wind-propelled blaze that destroyed a vacant mill and at least eight homes on Friday left victims and firefighters numb.

“I think the good Lord had his hand on the house,” the 72-year-old Cook said Saturday, standing in front of his nearly intact Kenyon Street home of more than 30 years. His garage was destroyed and yard charred, but the house suffered only minimal exterior damage.

On the other side of a fence, the burnt remains of a wall covered a red Mustang in Tweedly’s driveway. The car was about the only thing recognizable on the property.

“That was my mother’s whole life right there,” said Tweedly, 19, as he surveyed the devastation. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Once fire engulfed the Greenhalgh Mills complex, firefighters’ main priority was to protect the densely packed homes, businesses and an elementary school in the surrounding neighborhood.

But with wind gusts up to 45 mph, it was all but impossible to determine what path the fire would take, acting Fire Chief Richard Renzi said.

“Instead of burning up it was burning across,” Renzi said. Fire spread to homes up to five blocks away from the mill, while leaving the school and other structures closer to the blaze unscathed.

City officials said Saturday eight homes were destroyed, six suffered major damage and three sustained lesser damage.

“There were little fires on top of roofs and we didn’t have any visibility,” Renzi said. The charge to firefighters who responded from 27 communities was simple:

“If you see a fire, take care of it,” Renzi said.

Hundreds of people within less than a half-mile of the mill were evacuated. On Saturday, city and state officials were unsure how many people were still displaced. The Red Cross said 25 people spent Friday night in a temporary shelter. A total of 48 had visited the shelter, set up in a nearby school.

Power had been restored by late Saturday afternoon to all but a handful of homes, said Jackie Barry, a Narragansett Electric spokeswoman.

Investigators scoured the mill site Saturday for clues as to how the fire started, and used a helicopter to map the scene from the air. The probe was suspended Saturday afternoon and expected to resume Sunday.

The mill closed in 1998 and was set to be demolished to make way for a shopping complex. Asbestos abatement had been completed, but fire officials did not know whether the building contained hazardous chemicals at the time of the fire.

Gov. Don Carcieri said the first priority will be helping the homeless.

“Some of them may only have the clothes on their backs,” he said.

The emergency shelter was to remain open through Sunday. Officials said the Red Cross would then make other arrangements for those without a place to go.

Seventeen firefighters suffered smoke inhalation or minor injuries, and two remained hospitalized Saturday afternoon. A total of 24 people were evaluated at nearby hospitals, according to hospital officials. Mayor James Doyle said no one was seriously hurt.

“That’s the bright side of the story, if there is one,” Doyle said.

The retired Cook was home, on the telephone, when he saw smoke in his back yard Friday afternoon.

“I pulled my truck out and some tools and grabbed some envelopes I had with money inside,” he said. Cook wanted to stay but was forced out by a firefighter, who city officials credit with helping save Cook’s home.

“He grabbed me and said ‘You got to get out of here,”‘ Cook said.

When Cook’s daughter, Diane Trant, 48, heard about the fire she assumed the family home was lost.

“I thought I’d get here and find a rubble, 30 years of memories” gone, she said. “But it’s amazing” the house survived.

Others were similarly spared.

“The fact my house didn’t burn is unbelievable,” said Steven Demers, who also lives on Kenyon Street. “They put a hook-and-ladder in my yard, that’s probably the only reason.”

At the height of the fire, which broke about mid-afternoon, “it looked like Armageddon,” he said. “There were flames everywhere.”

Tweedly, who said he used to break windows at the mill when he was a kid, raced home from work after hearing about the fire and saw the roaring flames shooting through his house.

“My pool burned, my basketball hoop burned, the garage and house,” he said. His stepfather was able to save the family pets – two dogs, two rabbits and a cat.

“Now the house is gone,” Tweedly said. “What else can you say?”

AP-ES-11-15-03 1719EST