A dozen firefighters and emergency medical service personnel responded to a structure fire on the 1500 block of South Ocosta Street in Westport early Saturday morning.

According to South Beach Fire and EMS Capt. Darin Vander Veur, personnel arrived at the residence just after 2:30 a.m. and found smoke and flames coming from the rear of the home. The house was undergoing new construction. Neighbors initially told firefighters the residents were home and “handicapped” and that they were likely unable to get out of the home on their own. Firefighters switched to “life safety mode” and forced entry into the front of the house. After a thorough search they found the house to be empty.

Personnel from Pacific County Fire District No. 5, Ocosta Fire and Westport Fire were able to douse the fire while keeping it contained to the portion of the house under construction. The scene was cleared and firefighters were back at the station just after 4:30 a.m. The scene was turned over the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Department for investigation. The cause of the fire is undetermined as of Monday morning.