Heavy damage after house fire in St. Thomas, Ont.

Neighbour shaken by St. Thomas house fire An early morning house fire near the city's downtown has caused significant damage. CTV London's Sean Irvine with the man who called 911.

The St. Thomas Fire Department responded to a working house fire on Tuesday morning.

Crews were asking the public to avoid the area of Malakoff Street between Balaclava and Inkerman streets.

Frank Gatto, a neighbour of 32 Malakoff says he went out around 5:30 a.m., saw the smoke, and called 911.

“A real bright orange light in the window and flames coming out through the roof, and smoke. And I just called the fire department.”

Witnesses say it took around 45 minutes to get the fire under control.

Fire Prevention Officer Dave Gregory said the fire originated near the rear of the home.

Although they believed it was vacant, firefighters did enter the home to ensure there was no one inside.

“They were here quickly, assembled their crews and made an interior attack also.”

Gregory added that no one was injured in the fire.

There is heavy damage to the back of the home, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.

No damage estimate has yet been made available, but a fire official says the home is not likely to be salvageable.

- With files from CTV News London's Sean Irvine and Tammy Heisel