( CNN ) -- The fourteenth suspicious fire in a month 's time hit a small community near Philadelphia before dawn Sunday . A huge fire spread through more than a dozen homes Sunday outside Philadelphia , authorities said . The seven-alarm fire in Coatesville , Pennsylvania , damaged more than a dozen homes and caused nearly $ 2 million in damage , according to city spokeswoman Kristin Geiger . No residents were injured , she said . It took 150 firefighters three hours to bring the blaze under control , and one firefighter broke his ankle , CNN affiliate WPVI reported . Watch a town fearful of what 's next » . Authorities in the city announced a state of emergency on Sunday . In a statement , Coatesville City Manager Harry Walker said the declaration would allow him to `` promulgate whatever special rules and regulations necessary to protect '' citizens . It would also let him request assistance from other municipalities and `` enter into contracts , employ temporary personnel , rent equipment , purchase supplies without regard to the normal procedures and formalities prescribed by law , '' Walker wrote . Authorities have been imploring residents to remove anything flammable from outside their homes -- including porch furniture and trash . Standing outside the latest blaze early Sunday , resident Janet Jackson said it had broken out just behind her house . `` I woke up and everything was in flames , '' she said , adding , `` It 's really scary . ... I mean we 're all afraid to even be in our houses right now . '' Francis Dorsheimer said he had just arrived home when his family told him they needed to leave right away because a neighbor 's house was on fire . He ran outside and saw flames `` shooting off the roof . '' `` Must have been like 15-foot flames or higher , '' he said . `` It was just unbelievable . All the smoke in the air -- you could hardly breathe . '' Watch the flames eat away at homes » . Beverly Rivera watched firefighters put out the blaze at the home that she had recently moved out of . She still had possessions inside . `` Whoever 's doing this , this is just absolutely ludicrous , '' she said . Referring to suggestions that the fires may be the result of gang activity , Rivera said , `` If it 's a gang , please stop , and find something else to do . Because this is , this is terrible . This is absolutely unreal . '' `` I never thought Coatesville would be on the map for something like this , '' she added . `` It 's just awful . Just awful . '' Thirteen previous suspected arsons have occurred since the start of the year in Coatesville . Fifteen suspected arsons happened in 2008 -- including one that killed an 83-year-old woman , Geiger said . The fires do not appear to follow a clear pattern , she said . Three suspects were arrested in December , and confessed to some of the fires , said Geiger . The suspects -- two adults and one juvenile -- are still in custody , she said . A $ 5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to whomever has been setting the latest fires . Federal officials have joined the investigation , WPVI reported . Two homes were first spotted in flames at 11:30 p.m . The blazes spread and burned 15 homes , causing damage estimated at about $ 120,000 per home or a total of $ 1.8 million . City officials expect a huge turnout at a city council meeting Monday when the fires will be discussed . Coatesville , about 45 miles west of Philadelphia , has about 11,000 residents , according to the U.S. Census Bureau .
PA : Authorities in Coatesville , Pennsylvania , declare state of emergency . Since start of investigation , 14 suspicious fires have happened in a neighborhood near Philadelphia . US : Federal investigators are now part of a probe into the possible arsons . No residents were injured in a fire ##fight that damaged 15 homes , police say .