LEWISTON – A backyard barbecue blew out of control Tuesday afternoon torching part of a family home on Hillview Lane.

A couple and their two children escaped without injury at about 5 p.m. after flames rolled up the side of their two-story colonial at 9 Hillview Lane.

Fire officials said the family had just started a grill at the back of the home when stiff winds blew flames toward an attached garage.

“The wind was pushing all the heat and flames into that corner,” said Lewiston fire Chief Michel Lajoie. “It got going fast.”

Marc and Louise Goulet live in the home and were preparing dinner for themselves and their two children when the house began to burn, a neighbor said.

Flames swept up to the roof and caught hold in the eaves, in an area where the house and garage are attached by a cathedral ceiling, fire officials said.

When fire crews arrived, they attacked the flames from inside and outside the home, Lajoie said.

While firefighters doused the fast moving flames from the ground, others entered the house and cut a hole in a wall to reach the fire from that direction.

“The guys did a great job getting it down that fast,” Lajoie said. “Especially with that wind.”

Crews also cut holes into the roof of the attached garage to ventilate smoke from the building. Firefighters had the fire under control within an hour but remained at the scene longer to put out hotspots.

The house is located near the dead end portion of Hillview Lane, which runs off Randall Road. It was built three years ago, according to a neighbor.

Neighbors roused by the commotion stood on the side of Hillview Lane, looking down a steep hillside at the house. Most said they they believed there was a grassfire in the area.

A fire inspector was called to examined the damage once the fire was brought under control. Lajoie said damage to the house was limited to smoke damage and a hole cut in one wall. Overall damage was estimated at about $25,000.