Firefighters spent hours Friday afternoon battling a large five-alarm fire that broke out at a Baldwin Village noodle bar and quickly spread to four adjoining houses.

The fire began at the restaurant on Baldwin Street near McCaul Street at around 1:20 p.m. and was eventually upgraded to a five-alarm blaze about 30 minutes later. By 2 p.m. more than 25 trucks and 100 firefighters were at the scene working to contain the spread of the blaze.

Fire Chief Matthew Pegg said around 4 p.m. the fire was finally under control. 

“It's a fairly significant incident but at this point it's contained,” Fire Chief Matthew Pegg told CP24 at the scene.

Pegg said the fire was able to spread quickly because of a shared attic. He said the fire poses a challenge as it broke out in tight block of older row houses.

Toronto Fire said the fire appears to have started in the kitchen and spread into the ceiling and walls, but the cause has not yet been determined.

Pegg also said there's no current concern about the property's structure being compromised.Crews have yet to go inside the houses to get a better view of the damage.

Images shared from the scene showed flames and heavy smoke billowing from the rooftops.

Firefighters were advising people to avoid the area because of the heavy smoke.

TTC buses were brought in to shelter those displaced by the fire.

Fire started during busy lunch hour

The small strip of restaurants on the leafy street was packed with diners when the blaze broke out.

“It happened right at the height of lunchtime and it’s a beautiful day,” one bystander told CP24 at the scene. “People were still eating lunch as the smoke was billowing around them.”

No injuries have been reported in connection with the fire.

One dog was rescued from one of the buildings without injury.

Baldwin Street between Spadina Avenue and Beverly Street was blocked off as crews battled the fire, but it has since reopened. As well, Beverly Street reopened after being closed between Dundas and College Streets.

Firefighters say they are now looking to interview anyone who was at the building at 33 Baldwin Street when the fire broke out.