MILLERSBURG - A Millersburg home was destroyed in a fire Friday evening, Millersburg Fire Protection District Chief Larry Curtis said.
State fire marshals were unable to determine the fire's cause, he said Monday morning.
"There wasn't enough left to make a determination," he said.
The fire department received the call at 11:08 p.m. and quickly arrived at the house at 1458 Route WW.
"It was fully involved when we got on the scene," Curtis said. "The owner came home and found the house on fire."
While no human occupants were home when the fire started, several family pets were in the home at the time. The animals perished in the fire, Curtis said. No people were injured while fighting the blaze.
The fire took about an hour to extinguish, but the battle was complicated by the home's distance from the road and the nearest fire hydrant.
"It's a long, narrow driveway," Curtis said. "The house sits almost a quarter-mile off the roadway, and that in itself presents a problem. We had poor access to the house, and we had to shuttle water to it."
He said people don't always think to plan how to get a firetruck down the driveway to their house. By the time the firefighters are called, it's too late to fix the issues. He urged homeowners to take a look at their property and consider whether a firetruck would have adequate access.
"Make sure there's not too many overhanging limbs," he said.
While you're at it, look for flammable objects near the house such as wood or leaf piles, he suggested. Those can start, complicate or worsen a fire.
Central Callaway, North Callaway and Boone County Fire Protection Districts provided mutual aid.