NORWAY — An early morning blaze Friday destroyed a home in a wooded area at 246 Eddie Kahkonen Road, leaving seven people homeless and injuring a firefighter.

The fire started about 2:30 a.m. when a resident of the home heard something in the basement and saw flames.

Smoke was already pouring out of the basement windows and fire had spread throughout much of the house when the first crews arrived.

Norway Fire Chief David Knox said low manpower hampered efforts to extinguish the fire, which took approximately three hours to get under control.

None of the seven residents was injured, but one firefighter sustained minor burns to his ear. Two kittens were reported missing.

The home sustained significant damage and is unlivable due to the floors collapsing.

An excavator was brought in late Friday morning to begin tearing down the building.

Providing mutual aid were fire departments from Paris, West Paris, Woodstock, Mechanic Falls, Minot, Buckfield, Sweden, Casco, Hebron, Otisfield, Waterford, Poland, Naples, Greenwood, Harrison and Bridgton.

The cause of the fire is inconclusive.