A Cobbs Creek home under construction was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of Saturday morning.

According to sheriff’s office dispatch records, a resident called in at 3:05 a.m. to report seeing a huge fire in the vicinity of Cobbs Creek Lane.

Chief Todd Wilson of the Mathews Volunteer Fire Department said that firefighters were on the scene within 10 minutes, but when they arrived the two-story structure had already burned and collapsed into the foundation. The only thing the firefighters could do, he said, was to keep the fire contained within the foundation and prevent it from spreading into the woods.

A neighbor reported that he heard something in the middle of the night that sounded like an explosion, said Wilson, adding that that is typically what it sounds like when a roof caves in. He said he suspected that nobody saw the blaze until the roof collapsed.

Major John Williams of the Mathews County Sheriff’s Office said the fire was caused by propane heaters l...