Tony and Cynthia Martin and their family left their residence onEast Lincoln Road around 5:30 Wednesday.

They came home a little more than three hours later to find ahomeowner’s nightmare.

A fire that looks to have started in the attic had burned throughthe roof of the structure, volunteer fire department officialssaid.

Hog Chain and East Lincoln VFDs were called to the scene at 2100East Lincoln Road, where they conducted an interior attack on theblaze.

East Lincoln Fire Chief Ronnie Killingsworth said when firedepartment units arrived on the scene, smoke was billowing out ofthe house and fire was coming through the roof. He said it was goodthat there was a quick response from departments because theextensive damage could have been worse.

“If it would have gone about five or 10 more minutes it therewouldn’t have been anything left of it, it would have been on theground,” he said.

The family had just had new furniture delivered and were remodelingthe inside of the home, Killingsworth said.

“They had all the furniture covered up and were about to startpainting,” he said.

Firefighters were able to rescue a family dog that was foundtrapped inside the house, and Killingsworth said Red Cross wascalled to the scene.