Fire crews were called to a blaze in a block of flats in Claydon Road, Northfields, Leicester, this morning.
Two crews from the city's Eastern fire station attended the incident at 4.35am, and asked for extra manpower when it was reported there might be people still inside the flats.
However, firefighters discovered there was nobody in either of the two flats involved in the fire.
A ground floor and first floor flat were severely damaged in the blaze in the Leicester City Council-run Merrydale Court complex of 72 homes.
A resident in an adjoining property was woken up by firefighters and taken out of her home while they dealt with the blaze.
Next door neighbour Caroline Billington, 44, said: "I had a walk past it last night with the dog and everything seemed to be alright.
"The firemen woke me up at 4.30. There were a lot of flames and they took me outside. The chap who used to live in the ground floor flat passed away two weeks ago."
David Barber, 65, who lives in a nearby flat, said: "I got up at about five o'clock and there were a lot of fire engines and police cars. I was a bit worried and I wondered if anyone was hurt. The firemen seemed to have things under control."
The flats were cordoned off by police tape, with two police community support officers on guard.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service fire investigation officers were at the scene this morning, along with Leicestershire Police scientific support investigators.
