AUGUSTA — A fire on Sewall Street Thursday morning has left one family homeless.

Augusta Fire Battalion Chief John Bennett said nobody was hurt in the fire, but the two-story, single-family home sustained significant heat and smoke damage that will require repairs before the family is able to return.

A woman and her granddaughter were home when the fire broke out. Both were able to escape safely.

“They were alerted by the smoke detector,” he said.

Bennett was unsure how many people live in the home, which is owned by Sheila and Virginia Carroll. The home is insured, Bennett said.

The fire was the second to break out in the city in just a few hours. A fire sparked by a lightning strike shortly after midnight damaged a home on West River Road.

Firefighters were called to the home around 6:15 a.m. for a report of a fire in the basement. Heavy smoke was rolling out of the basement and out of the eaves when firefighters arrived. Bennett said there was one window open at the top of the building, which caused the entire structure to act like a chimney, venting smoke and heat up through the floors and out the windows. That led to much of the smoke and heat damage, Bennett said.

It took firefighters from Augusta, Winthrop, Gardiner and Chelsea about 30 minutes to control the fire. The fire damaged a small portion of the basement.

Crews remained on scene until about 8:30 a.m., making sure the fire had not extended into other parts of the house.

Bennett said the cause of the fire is undetermined. An investigator from the State Fire Marshal’s Office was at the home shortly after the blaze trying to determine how the fire started.

Craig Crosby — 621-5642

ccrosby@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @CraigCrosby4