WILTON — Fire officials determined a candle in a second-story bedroom caused a fire Wednesday night that gutted a house at 8 Cross St. in East Wilton.

No one was injured, but the house was a total loss, Wilton fire Chief Sonny Dunham said.

He said the fire was accidental. It started in the bedroom and spread to the rest of the house, he said.

The house, on a side street behind the East Wilton Post Office, is owned by Tim and Lisa Thibault. It was insured, Dunham said.

Lisa Thibault, her daughter and granddaughter were home when the fire began, Dunham said. Tim Thibault had gone to the store; he came back to find his house engulfed in flames, Dunham said.

He did not know whether all of the family’s cats escaped, though some did, he said.

Dunham said he arrived two minutes after the 8:08 p.m. fire call. Fire was showing from two windows in a bedroom on the left side of the house, he said.

The first truck arrived at 8:15 p.m.

About 50 to 55 firefighters from Wilton, Farmington, Jay, East Dixfield, Livermore Falls, Temple and Chesterville responded, Dunham said.

Sixteen trucks responded, and most had to shuttle water, he said. A hydrant on Cross Street and one on Main Street, at Lovers’ Rock near the old Backus Garage, provided most of the water.

The upstairs of the house was gutted and the first floor sustained heavy water and smoke damage, Dunham said.

“They lost everything,” he said. “It is a total loss.”

A state fire investigator was called in to help determine the cause, he said.

The American Red Cross was notified to come help the family, who stayed with relatives Wednesday night.

A couple of firefighters slipped and fell in the icy conditions, but they were fine Thursday, Dunham said. Air packs were freezing in the frigid temperatures, but everything worked out, he said.

Firefighters cleared the station at about 2 a.m. Thursday

dperry@sunjournal.com