Brownwood Fire Marshal Buddy Preston has been investigating the fire that destroyed a home in the 3400 block of Durham Avenue Thursday morning.

According to Preston, he and arson dog Nika investigated the scene Thursday evening and determined the cause of the fire to be a pan left on a stove in the kitchen.

Preston stated that the house was considered a total loss, gutted from the flames.

“The house was totaled, gutted on the inside,” said Preston.

He explained that the fire took quite a while to extinguish and was a difficult task.   He also stated that neighbors were helpful to the exhausted firemen working at the scene.

“It was very hot for the guys, we even ran out of drinking water.  A neighbor across the street made tea and brought it over,” Preston said.

It was neighbors who also reported the fire initially and worked diligently to knock on the doors to make sure the residents were not inside the home at the time of the fire, according to witnesses on scene.

The Brownwood Fire Department with assistance from the Early Volunteer Fire Department worked for serveral hours on the house fire which started around 11am Thursday.  The home owners were not at the house at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.