HANGING ROCK - The only thing left of Mary Ellen Porter's house is a pile of ash and rubble.

The two-story frame house on North Second Street in Hanging Rock burned Friday afternoon, and kept firefighters from three departments busy for hours. The flames could be seen above the roofline of neighboring houses, and at times, the smoke could be seen blocks away.

Hamilton Township Fire Chief Mike Pearson said no one was home at the time of the fire, and the cause is likely electrical in nature.

Neighbors saw the fire and called authorities.

"I was helping my grandparents get Christmas decorations out of the barn when I saw the smoke," Joshua Waginger said. "I ran down to see if anyone was there and my brother called the fire department."

Pearson said the effort to fight the fire was hampered by a lack of manpower. Because the fire occurred in the early afternoon, many of Hamilton Township's firefighters were at work, and could not leave work to fight a fire. He said he wished more people would volunteer.

"We have all the equipment we need and we have adequate water," Pearson said. "We just don't have enough people."

Hamilton Township firefighters were assisted by crews from the Ironton and Upper Township fire departments. Pearon said some personnel were on the scene until nearly midnight.