Fire caused substantial damage to the home of Steven Forrest on Buckley Hall Road in Cobbs Creek last Thursday morning.

Ricky Tomlinson of the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department said the fire appeared to have started when flames escaped a chimney and burned the floor of the second story of the house.

When firefighters arrived shortly after 4 a.m., fire was already coming out of the upstairs windows on the back side of the house, said Tomlinson, and the floor had burned through and collapsed.

Forrest was asleep downstairs when the fire began but was awakened by a noise, said Tomlinson. He theorized that Forrest might have heard the windows blowing out upstairs.

It took about an hour to bring the fire under control because of the building’s balloon construction overlaid with brick and vinyl siding, said Tomlinson.

"It was a nightmare," he said, "but it was a good stop with what we had to deal with."

The entire back wing of the home was destroyed, said Tomlinson, while...