UNDATED – A fire did heavy damage to a house and destroyed a detached garage on Thursday.

Angola Fire Chief T.R. Hagerty says while on patrol, Steuben County Sheriff's Deputy Rich McCarty noticed heavy smoke coming from 8730 East 15 North at 12 PM Thursday. He found a detached garage fully engulfed in flames and the residence starting to catch fire.

McCarty alerted the homeowners, William and Delores Bredemeyer, who were in the basement, of the fire. They all worked to rescue several animals that were in pens in or around the garage. They were able to save several animals except for a dog and several cats that were in the garage.

Hagerty says the Angola Fire Department and several other area fire departments arrived and started to battle the blazed, but where slowed down by heavy winds. They were able to get the bulk of the fire knocked down.

The house did sustain heavy fire damage and the garage was a total loss. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Damage estimates stand at $500,000. There was also a large woods and a field that caught on fire due to the garage fire.

Assisting at the scene were the Fremont, Metz, Ashley-Hudson, Hamilton, Steuben Township, Orland, Waterloo, Butler, Auburn, Florence Township, Northwest Township and the Stroh Fire Departments. In addition, the Steuben County Sheriff's Department, the Clear Lake Police Department, Steuben County EMS and Steuben County REMC all helped as well.