Firefighters battle a house fire Wednesday in Tonganoxie. The fire, attributed by officials to old wiring, started about 6:20 p.m. at 14261 234th St. The damage estimate is 00,000.

A household of five lost their home Wednesday after flames engulfed the structure in Tonganoxie.

According to the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office, the fire started about 6:20 p.m. Wednesday at the home at 14261 234th St. Reno, Sherman and Tonganoxie Township fire departments as well as the Tonganoxie City Fire Department responded to the scene.

The homeowner, David Blansit, said four of the five people who live in the home were there when the fire broke out and that all made it out safely.

“I have no idea how it started,” Blansit said. “I just smelled the smoke.”

According to a sheriff’s report, Blansit reported seeing smoke from the rear of the residence, and he discovered a camper fully engulfed in flames and the siding of the rear of the house on fire. He attempted to extinguish the fire with a garden hose while his girlfriend called 911.

Blansit said he moved his vehicles out of his garage and his propane-fired barbecue grill away from his home.

“It was fully involved by the time we got the call, so by the time we got here it was pretty well going,” said Bill Merkel, assistant chief of Reno Township.

“Everything worked out fairly well; it was just too far gone by the time we even got a call, let alone about four or five minutes to get here,” he said.

The damage estimate is $100,000, and, according to a sheriff’s report, the cause of the fire is being attributed to old wiring.