A West Deer man’s house was destroyed Tuesday night when he tried to start a fire in his fireplace but it got out of control, a township fire chief said.

Anthony Creaturo, chief of West Deer Volunteer Fire Company No. 2, said crews were dispatched at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to the 1100 block of Logan Road in the township’s Gibsonia section.

When firefighters arrived, the home was about 90% enveloped in flames, Creaturo said.

The homeowner, an older man whom Creaturo did not identify, told firefighters he was attempting to light his fireplace and called 911 when it got out of control. He was able to escape uninjured, Creaturo said.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, one from smoke inhalation and the other with an elevated pulse.

Creaturo said crews were battling the blaze until about 2 a.m. The building’s broad, wooden exterior made the fire difficult to extinguish, he said.

The fire rekindled twice, at 4 and 6 a.m.

The home collapsed and was deemed a total loss.

Temperatures were in the 20s and low teens as the volunteers were at the scene.

About 15 fire departments from Allegheny, Butler and Westmoreland counties were called to assist, Creaturo said.

“The firefighters that were there, with the conditions that were present for us, they did a great job,” Creaturo said.

Several media outlets reported that the property was formerly an alpaca farm, but Creaturo said that property is “a good distance” away.

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