An early morning fire caused significant damage to a Crossland Street home Thursday morning, but officials said residents were able to escape the blaze uninjured.
Firefighters with the Charlestown-Richmond Volunteer Fire Department and members of the Cross' Mills Fire Department were called around 4:30 a.m. to reports of a structure fire at 42 Crossland Street, a residential neighborhood located off South county Road. Charlestown police and members of the Charlestown Ambulance Rescue Service also responded.
Charlestown Police Chief Don Rathbone said police arrived first, with an officer reporting that the fire was showing from a deck and the right side of the one-story ranch home. He said by the time firefighters arrived, the blaze had already extended into the kitchen area through a sliding glass door that failed as a result of the heat.