JAY – The Red Cross took a local family in Tuesday night after a late afternoon fire gutted the inside of their home.

Firefighters received the call around 3:40 p.m., Deputy Fire Chief Jim Shink said Tuesday. It had been reported by a Wilton firefighter, who drove by and saw a 12-year-old running out of the home to a neighbor’s house to escape. “It was happening that quick,” Shink said.

The house at 970 Main St. in North Jay is owned by Frank and Christine Keene, Shink said. Their son was the only one home at the time. There were no pets in the house, he said.

When firefighters arrived on the scene the interior of the home was fully engulfed, but it was knocked down within 20 minutes with help from firefighters from East Dixfield, Wilton and Livermore Falls. A rapid intervention team from Farmington also responded, Shink said.

The Keenes had no insurance, he said.

“We did call the Red Cross. They set them up in a place in Farmington,” Shink said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and the State Fire Marshal’s office has been called in, Shink said.