A fire Saturday at a New Jersey Street home during a birthday party damaged the property but injured no one.

“We tried hoses, but they wouldn’t work. Then someone poured a couple of buckets of water, but the smoke and fire had gotten pretty bad,” said Molly Easley, Lawrence, a friend of the occupants.

Easley was one of about 15 people gathered at 1104 N.J. for a birthday celebration, she said.

“We were talking in the backyard, and somebody went inside and smelled smoke in the front. Then we saw smoke in the bedroom,” she said.

The flames had risen to more than 15 feet in the home’s northwest corner before Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical firefighters extinguished them with water from two hoses just before 10:45 p.m. Deputy Fire Chief Mark Bradford said the original emergency call was at 10:04 p.m.

After the flames were out, black residue charred the white exterior of three windows where flames had escaped the dwelling.

Bradford confirmed that no one was inside the home or injured. The neighbors north of the burning house also telephoned for help because they believed their home was ablaze, but no other structures were damaged, Bradford said.

“The fire spread outside of the room of origin,” he said. “But firefighters did fairly quick work once they arrived to knock down the fire.”

Firefighters work to ensure the fire is out at a house at 1104 N.J. The fire started late Saturday during a birthday party.

Bradford said he could not determine a cause. He expected the department’s investigation to last into this morning. Damage to the home was considerable, but a precise estimate was not available Saturday.

From his brother’s porch across the street at 1105 N.J., Jeremiah Johnson said he initially thought he saw a light in the window. It then grew into a large flame.

“It couldn’t have been 10 minutes later when it looked like the fire was doing pretty good,” said Johnson, of Elkhart, who was visiting his brother.

After the fire was out, some who were at the party gathered in the front yard next door and waited to talk with firefighters. Easley said the occupants rented the home and had lived there only since Aug. 1.

The Douglas County Appraiser’s Web site lists the owner of the home as Bonita J. Yoder.