LEWISTON — A candle left unattended on a coffee table Wednesday night started a fire that gutted a house on Parker Street, a fire investigator said Thursday.

Terry Cady escaped her burning home without injury after the candle ignited a blanket and then the couch, Lewiston Fire Inspector Paul Ouellette said.

When fire crews first arrived, fire was blowing out the front windows, Ouellette said.

Crews were able to contain the fire to the living room, but that area of the house was a total loss. The rest of the home sustained heavy heat and smoke damage.

Ouellette estimated the damage at $80,000. Cady was said to be staying with relatives on Thursday. There was no immediate word on whether the house would be repaired or torn down.