The Ironton Fire Department responded to a house fire early Sunday morning, which caused significant damage to the structure.

Ironton Fire Chief Mike Mahlmeister said the call of the fire came in around 4:26 a.m. Sunday at 2427 S. 10th Street.

“The owner of the house was home alone at the time, and her smoke detector alerted her of the fire,” he said. “She was able to get out of the house before she called 911.”

Mahlmeister said he doesn’t have an official cause of the fire at this time, but he believes it seemed to either start somewhere toward the back of the house or in the basement.

The owner of the home, Tracy Mineer, was looking for her two dogs before she went out of the house, and Mahlmeister said one of the dogs, along with a guinea pig, died as a result of the fire. The other dog is still unaccounted for, and either escaped and ran away or hasn’t yet been found in the house.

Mineer’s 4-year-old son was staying at his grandparent’s house that night, and wasn’t at home at the time of the fire.

“We sent one crew out to the scene and called another in for backup,” Mahlmeister said. “It was heavily involved when we first got there, but we had it under control within a half an hour.”

The department was on scene until just after 8 a.m. Sunday.

“I’m not expecting any foul play as of right now,” Mahlmeister said. “It’s still under investigation, but I should have an official cause within a few days.”