A devastating fire swept through a two-storey Smith's Parish house yesterday morning, gutting most of the interior before firefighters could extinguish it.

Crews responded to reports of smoke at the Knapton Close dwelling at 8.40 a.m. When they arrived 20 minutes later, the lower level of the house was completely engulfed in flames, with the blaze spreading quickly to the second floor.

The four residents of the house who were at home when the fire broke out escaped without injury, but said they held little hope of salvaging any of their possessions.

"We have a downstairs apartment, and my tenant came running upstairs and said she smelt smoke," said Carla Fountain, who has lived in the house with her husband for 35 years.

"We left everything, grabbed the dog and ran…I'm pretty sure there's nothing left in there. My address book is definitely gone."

Her tenant, Gale Bellew, said she noticed the smell of smoke as she was working on her computer. When she could not find its source, Mrs. Bellew went to check the rooms upstairs. Minutes later, her husband Bill emerged from the shower to find the apartment's ceiling covered in smoke.

Mr. Bellew attempted unsuccessfully to douse the fire with a garden hose, but eventually abandoned the home with the others as the flames grew higher.

It took more than a dozen firefighters an hour-and-a-half to put out the blaze, as the four residents looked on helplessly from their front yard.

Mrs. Bellew, an art teacher, said she expected to lose everything in the blaze including a camera that held months' worth of images for a project. The expatriate couple, who are due to leave the Island in October, had been trying to sell many of their belongings before their departure. A few prospective buyers had even arranged to visit the house later in the day.

Meanwhile, Lt. Ronnie Aguiar, the Fire Service's Acting Divisional Officer, would not comment on speculation that a water heater might have been to blame for the fire.

"The first step of the investigation will be to find the fire's point of origin," he said, adding it would be a long process owing to the amount of debris that had to be cleared.