Strong winds and liquid propane tanks helped fuel a fire that destroyed three homes in Monmouth County.

The fire started at a home on Highfield Avenue in Aberdeen around 12:30 p.m. Thursday. Officials say that strong winds caused the fire to quickly spread to the two adjacent homes.

Fire officials say that when firefighters arrived, they saw a wall of bright flames and thick black smoke coming from the three homes. All three homes are uninhabitable, according to officials, and will need to be torn down.

“Where the first fire started, it was a complete knockdown of the house. All three houses are a knockdown,” said Aberdeen Deputy Fire Chief Michael Smith. “We’re going to have an excavator brought in to knock them all down.”

One man was rescued from the house that the fire started in. He was hospitalized with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening. A dog was also rescued.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.