LEXINGTON – A house fire in Lexington took over four hours to extinguish due to icy conditions and the roof collapsing.

The Lexington and Towanda fire departments were called to a house fire at 10:20 p.m. on Jan 11 just south of the intersection of North 2600 East Road and East 2200 North Road, according to a post on the Lexington Fire Department’s Facebook page.

The family had been away and came back to the backside of the house engulfed in flames, the post said.

Additional help was needed from surrounding fire departments to help combat the blaze as 28 fire units were called in to assist, the post said.

Access to the home was difficult for firefighters as the drive to the house was very narrow, twisty and steep and was also covered in ice. The roof collapsing also extended their defensive attack on the fire, which to four and a half hours to extinguish,  the post said.

No cause of the fire has been released or an estimated cost of the damages, the post said.

The local chapter of the Red Cross was called in to assist the family, it said.

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