A house fire on College Avenue in Warrenton has rendered the home temporarily unlivable, said Fire Chief Mike Owenby.The family that occupied the residence, an adult and three children, are receiving assistance from the Red Cross, he said.Firefighters were called to the home at 4:10 p.m. Sunday. The fire began outside on the porch, likely caused by carelessly discarded smoking material, Owenby said. It traveled up and inside the roof of the porch into the walls of the home, but lacked much oxygen to burn.“It was waiting for an opportunity to get some air. It could have been a lot worse,” Owenby explained. “It was quick action and work of our crews to be able to get in there and get that thing (put out).”The fire was under control within 20 minutes, but two upstairs bedrooms were scorched and the whole house had smoke damage, Owenby said. Additionally, firefighters had to tear into much of the attic to check for any residual embers. It will take some time before the house is livable again.Older houses such as this one don’t have as many interior fire protections, Owenby explained. Fire can spread quickly inside the walls into the ceiling because there aren’t internal fire barriers.

A home on College Avenue in Warrenton suffered significant damage because of a fire Sunday afternoon. Officials believe the fire was caused by discarded smoking material. 

Record photo/Adam Rollins

Two firefighters are "flashed" by flames that shot out of the roof of a porch after being uncovered. The fire caused significant damage to a home on College Avenue Sunday, March 4. 

Warrenton Fire Protection District photo