WATERVILLE — When firefighters arrived at 12 High St. shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, they saw heavy smoke coming from the single-family home and a man standing on a porch roof.

Only after the man was rescued with the help of a ground ladder was the source of the smoke found: heavy flames were seen in the back of the single-family home, with a partial roof collapse.

The cause of the fire is undetermined, Battalion Chief Ryan Cote said later Wednesday, and it is believed to be accidental.

“He did have a wood stove in the back room,” Cote said. “I believe wood was his main source of heat. Where the majority of the fire was on our arrival would indicate it was in the vicinity of the wood stove.”

Cote said the man reported being awakened by some weird sounds. When he tried to leave his room, he was met with smoke and fire, so he retreated to his bedroom and went out the window, stepping onto the roof of a small porch and called 911.

For the next four hours, firefighters from Waterville, Winslow and Fairfield fought the fire. Skowhegan’s Rapid Intervention Team was on hand but was not deployed, Cote said. When it became obvious the building was unsafe for firefighting, an excavator was brought in with assistance from Waterville Public Works shortly after 3 a.m. to knock it down.

“We pretty much only fought fire from the yard,” Cote said.

No one was injured in fighting the fire, and the man was evaluated at the scene and released.

“The fire had a head start on us due to the homeowner being sleeping,” he said. “I do not believe (the man) had working smoke detectors. If I was to pick anything that might have hindered us, it was the lack of early detection and him not waking up until the fire got to a point where the physical fire making noises woke him up and alerted him, thankfully.”

Cote said the Red Cross was called in to help the homeowner.

Waterville property records show the home is owned by Jordan M. Benissan.

Cote said via a news release that if the homeowner had been sleeping with his bedroom door open, the outcome could have been much worse; fire officals recommend keeping bedroom doors closed at night.