A person is unaccounted for following an early morning fire that destroyed a Massachusetts home, according to authorities.
The fire broke out at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday at 36 Restful Lane in Wareham and quickly reached 2-alarms.
Crews had to battle the blaze from the outside only due to the structure being unsafe.
"We've had collapses inside, walls are blowing out, so it's not safe to allow the personnel to go inside the building at this time," Wareham Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Haskell said.
Neighbors said they were woken up by police telling them they had to evacuate due to the severity of the flames.
"The fire was everywhere, just shooting. And the house and the windows were cracking and popping," said neighbor Linda Lukan.
Authorities said they were looking for the owner of the home but weren't sure if they were inside the house when the fire broke out or they were away.
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"We just have a homeowner that's unaccounted for," Haskell said. "I'm not saying they were inside — we're just looking for somebody."
However, next-door neighbors told NBC10 Boston that they spoke to the homeowner by phone after the blaze broke out, adding he wasn't there when it happened but apparently rented out rooms. They believe the house was unoccupied.
"It was abandoned for a while since that last storm we had," Jeffrey Lukan said.
The identity of the homeowner has not been made public.
Investigators have started to demolish the building so that authorities can begin determining the cause of the fire.
The Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's Office is assisting in the investigation.
