Tennant says the first fire truck was on the scene less than a minute later and began working to put out the fire and keep it from&bsp; spreading.

The house is in a wooded neighborhood off Houston Road between Columbus and Mill Spring, and had a detached garage and other houses in close proximity. Neighbors reported seeing black smoke rising from the house.

Columbus, Mill Spring and Tryon firefighters worked most of the afternoon, extinguishing the fire, which burned away the roof of the house, collapsed one side and charred the rest of the interior structure. The blaze also reached an SUV parked in front of the house, leaving only the metal frame of the vehicle.

Chief Tennant said the cause of the fire, which destroyed the two-story house, was unknown. The fire is being investigated by both the Polk County Sheriff&squo;s Office and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.

Firefighters reported that nobody was in the home when they arrived.

Inside of the burned out SUV.&bsp;&bsp;