A fire Sunday afternoon in Middlefield left a family of six homeless.
The blaze struck the home of William R. Miller Jr., Renee Darling and their four children at 3462 County Route 35, Miller's mother, Kitty Miller, said Monday.
Fire officials who arrived at 1:45 p.m. said the home was a loss, with heavy fire damage on the second floor and a collapsed ceiling and smoke and water damage on the first floor.
Kitty Miller credited her 7-year-old grandson, William R. Miller III, for alerting Darling to the fire and helping her get the other children out of the burning home. Miller said William R. Miller Jr. was working on a car a few miles away at the time of the blaze.
Middlefield Fire Chief Doug Roberts said the boy did the right thing when he noticed flames upstairs.
"He alerted the family to the fire," Roberts said.
Roberts said he did not see any smoke detectors on the first floor of the home and did not know if any had activated before the family escaped. The cause of the blaze is undetermined and remained under investigation, he said.
Kitty Miller said William R. Miller III was upstairs with three of his younger siblings when he noticed a fire near the doorway of a bedroom.
Roberts said all of those inside the home had safely evacuated by the time firefighters arrived. No one was injured, he said.
Kitty Miller said the family was not able to salvage much from the home, which she said was rented from Darling's parents. The family is staying at a relative's home, and the Red Cross is also assisting the fire victims.
Between 25 and 30 firefighters from Cherry Valley, Milford, Middlefield, Westford and Cooperstown fire departments responded to the scene, Roberts said.
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Jake Palmateer can be reached at 432-1000 or (800) 721-1000, ext. 221, or at jpalmateer@thedailystar.com.
