Weldon fire Chief Rusty Bolt said the call was received around 7:30.
One of the occupants saw fire in the closet and tried to put it out. The fire, however, got too big, Bolt said.
There were three occupants inside the wood-framed house, including a wheelchair-bound woman. “They were lucky to get her out,” Bolt said.
Firefighters arrived within two minutes and it took approximately 30 minutes to get the blaze under control. “Pretty much every room was involved. We saved the frame and the flooring,” Bolt said.
The cause of the fire is undetermined. Bolt said it wasn’t clear whether the cause might have been electrical or something in the furnace. The five-room house had a standup furnace in which the front was visible in the living room and the back was in the closet.
There was total content loss as well, Bolt said.
The victims, who were not injured, have family in the area and the American Red Cross is assisting with temporary lodging, clothing, food and money.
