The fiery mayhem began around 2 in the morning and lasted only an hour and fifteen minutes. The city of Northampton was under attack by what investigators are calling a serial arsonist.

"Suddenly I looked up and there was fire blazing from the house next door," Rebecca Smith said.

At least nine different locations were hit, all intentionally set ablaze.

Resident Mike Shaungassey was told to keep a close eye on his house this morning. "We heard from someone last night that five houses were burning," he said.

Homes and vehicles were targeted, some becoming fully involved. One became fatal. Firefighters found two bodies inside 17 Fair Street. CBS 3 Springfield spoke with a man whose mother lived inside the home.

"My mother and her friend are okay but the other two downstairs [are not]," Mark Lapointe said. "The two victims I believe according to the process of elimination, were the husband and the son on the first floor; the Yeskies, Paul and Paul Jr."

City records and phonebooks confirm that Paul Yeskie was the property owner of that house.

Over at 26 Union Street, Henry Segal said he's lucky to be alive.

"I got my dad we got downstairs, and it turns out there was a fire so we started panicking. So we just got out as fast as we could. I was so lucky that I hadn't fallen asleep by then. I'm so lucky," Segal said.

A home on Crecen Street had twelve people inside. Family was visiting for the holidays. If it was not for a security guard from a neighboring college who saw the flames and alerted the family, their fate could have been like that of the Yeskies.

The arsonist tried starting two fires on Highland Avenue. Neighbors came pouring out of their homes to do what an extremely overstretched fire department could not.

"Luckily I had a fire extinguisher on the attic. The neighborhood was out in the street to put it out. Everyone really rallied. It could have completely been gutted," Mortimer said.

Fifteen fire departments from different towns and cities came with mutual aid. Then they helped city officials plaster signs around the city offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

For now, Paradise City is far from tranquil. Most residents are on edge that with another night comes danger in the form of fire.

"I'm afraid and I'm really concerned for the safety of the neighborhood," Mortimer said.