The sound of a popping, crackling fire woke Patrick Frey from a nap Sunday afternoon. By the time he called 911, the fire in his neighbor’s garage had turned into a blaze that charred the south side of Frey’s duplex and left him homeless.

The fire started about 4:35 p.m. Sunday at Third and Illinois streets in a garage behind a house, both owned by Harold Shepherd. The blaze consumed the garage and melted plastic siding on the house, Battalion Chief Rob Kort of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical said.

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze at a garage near Third and Illinois streets. The fire spread to a neighboring duplex, seen in the background, which sustained heavy damage.

The fire was extinguished by 4:57 p.m., but not before the south wall of Frey’s duplex apartment at 239 Ill. was burned and the windows broken.

Frey made it out of the fire with his cat, Sedona, after calling 911.

“All I know is that my windows are melted out, the wall is torched, and I think my computer got torched,” he said.

Frey, 28, is a Kansas University student in English and religious studies. He said he planned to stay with a friend until he could find a new apartment.

The duplex, built in 1998, is owned by Russ Livingston, Lawrence. He said about 50 to 60 percent of the building was damaged.

“I’m just glad nobody got hurt,” Livingston said.

The garage fire is still under investigation, Kort said, and no damage estimates were available Sunday.

Sunday’s frigid temperatures complicated firefighting efforts.

“The ice forms on the street because of the water and the hoses get frozen,” Kort said. “It’s much more challenging and a lot more work.”