Heather Wright/The Independent

No one was injured during a fire in one of Sombra’s original homes.

Sombra firefighters were called to a house on Water Street, south of the ferry dock, around 7:30 pm Wednesday. They found heavy smoke and flames coming from the family home on the St. Clair River.

“They started an aggressive interior attack but the fire was well seated and well advanced,” says St. Clair Township Fire Chief Richard Boyes. “It took a significant amount of work to get to the point of getting it out.”

About 40 firefighters from five St. Clair Stations were on scene, rotating in and out to fight the fire because of the high heat and warm evening temperatures.

The fire was finally under control around midnight.

“The residents got out, so nobody was injured,” says Boyes. “Civilians or firefighters. It was hot, but that goes with the territory.”

Boyes says the house is “extensively damaged. The fire got up through and into the roof area.

“It was one of the original dwellings down in that area, so it was heavy timber construction with many renovations.”

Boyes says the roof is “pretty much completely destroyed.”

The chief estimates about $300,000 damage has been done. It’s not clear, he says, whether it can be saved.

Fire officials believe the fire started with a cooking mishap.