A piece of Fresno's history is now gone after going up in flames overnight.
Historic Armenian homes in downtown Fresno destroyed by fire
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 5, ARTSAKHPRESS: Two houses in downtown's Armenian Town were left in shambles after a devastating fire, ABC 30 reported.
One of them still stands, but it's been completely charred while the other has been reduced to rubble.
The two houses, on Santa Clara and M streets, were built in the early 1900s and survived through the years up until the fire.
"The volume of fire they encountered that you can see on that helmet cam footage it is incredible because there is nothing in there to burn, it's just the structural members," said Fresno Fire's Shane Brown.
Eshkan Melikian lived in one of the two houses as a boy.
His former home still stands, but there's not much left of it.
"The house had real good character, high ceilings, and big windows," said Melikian.
They stood empty for several years until they were moved to their current location. They were restored to be converted into offices and other business spaces.
When the fire broke out, no one and nothing was inside the vacant homes.
Fire investigators believe homeless people bypassed the steel rod gates and started the fire.
Fire officials say they've had several homeless break-ins at the houses in the past.
Although the future of the remaining homes is uncertain, Der Samonian said he dreams they'll one day serve as Armenian history exhibits.