Investigators probe early morning Regina house fire

An early morning fire in Regina's Northeast neighbourhood has left a family homeless on Christmas Eve.

The family was not home at the time of the fire, a fire department official said.

When they returned at about 1:30 a.m. CST on Christmas Eve, they saw flames coming out of the house and called 911.Fire crews got to the house inthe 400 block of McIntyre Streetby 1:36a.m.

The fire heavily damaged the front of the house, and melted plastic furniture could be seen on the front lawn.

Crews were finished cleaning up at the scene by six in the morning,and an investigator was working to figure out what caused the fire.

The landlord, MonteClements, lives across the street from the family.He spent the night with them, and watched firefighters put out the flames.

"It had already eaten through the drywall, and it was starting to eat through the roof by the time I got there. And after it got into theroof, it went pretty quick," he said.

A neighbour of the family,Joyclyne Sengerhas lived in the neighbourhood for two years. She said she's trying to put together a food and clothing drive for the family.

"I would just like the community to come together and help. Because if it was me, that's what I would want," she said.