A fire that broke out early Sunday evening caused extensive damage to a home on Candle Hill Road.

 

No one was at home when a neighbor who was riding an all-terrain vehicle on the dead-end street spotted the blaze and called 911 at about 6:50 p.m.

 

Flames had engulfed almost the entire right side of the contemporary-style residence by the time firefighters arrived, Chief Ed McCue said.

 

Firefighters swept the interior in an attempt to locate anyone who might have been trapped by the blaze, but subsequently learned that the homeowners are out of the country, McCue said.

 

A person who was house-sitting also apparently was not present when the fire started, according to the chief and several neighbors.

 

The fire apparently originated in the basement and flames were shooting out of the basement, first and second-floor windows when firefighters arrived. They also had to deal with an exposed propane tank outside the home that was briefly threatened by the fire.

 

At least 20 firefighters and more than a half-dozen apparatus from New Fairfield responded to the blaze, along with a tanker from Sherman.

 

"We made an aggressive, interior attack and knocked the fire down," McCue said.

 

Neighbor James Palardy said he looked out from his house after hearing a barking dog and spotted another neighbor who was riding an all-terrain vehicle near the house.

 

The rider was shouting for someone to call 911, and was signalling the house number, he said.

 

The homeowners, identified by neighbors as Dwight and Barbara Lobban, are reportedly in Poland.