It could have been a lot worse had it not been for an observant neighbor.
Doyle Swiney was walking his dog along Kingswood Drive in Fulton Monday afternoon when he realized there was smoke coming off of the roof of Darrell Davis' home. Knowing that neighbors Catherine and William Fegley had access to Davis' home when he is away, Swiney and the Fegleys went over to check on things.
"They opened the garage, saw it was probably electrical and called 911," Swiney said, noting the Fegleys also went in to rescue Davis' dog.
Engines 1 and 2 with the Fulton Fire Department responded to the call at 5:15 p.m., and Fire Chief Dean Buffington said it took only a few minutes to put out the flames.
"We had it under control real quick," Buffington said. "It's a good thing the neighbor saw it. As much of a mess as it is now, it could have been a lot worse if it had been just a few more minutes."
He said the fire started in a ventilation fan in the roof before insulation caught fire and burnt some of the trusses.
Buffington said his firefighters used a pressurized water extinguisher in an effort to keep the damage - which included cutting holes in the ceiling to help with ventilation - as minimal as possible.