MECHANIC FALLS — Firefighters from seven towns battled a fire that left a family homeless Saturday morning.

The house at 12 High St. suffered “severe internal damage,” Mechanic Falls Fire Chief Frederick Sturtevant III said Saturday evening.

No one from the five-person family was home when the blaze broke out. The fire was discovered when a neighbor smelled smoke and called 911 after knocking on the door and finding no one there, Sturtevant said. He was unsure of the family’s name Saturday evening.

Fire crews from Mechanic Falls, Auburn, Minot, Poland, Oxford, Hebron and Norway responded to the 9 a.m. call. A total of 50 firefighters were at the scene, Sturtevant said. “I was so happy to see them. We used them all.”

The multi-department team effort had the fire under control within about 45 minutes but continued to fight hot spots for several hours, Sturtevant said.

Following an investigation, Maine State Fire Marshals ruled the cause of the blaze “undetermined” because the damage to the house was too great to pinpoint its origin, he said.

The Red Cross will help the family, who do not have relatives in the area, to find accommodations, Sturtevant said.

Some Mechanic Falls firefighters had responded to a double fatality car accident on Elm Street late Friday night. “Some guys were running on zero sleep,” Sturtevant said. “They were doing their job. We’ve got some committed volunteers.”

acullen@sunjournal.com