Firefighters used ladders to get at smoldering flames on the roof at 13612 Robert Walker Drive. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Updated 9:01 p.m.
A smoldering fire early Friday evening damaged  a home in the River Run neighborhood whose owners were out of town. Firefighters were able to put out the fire before it destroyed the house. Fire officials and neighbors initially said it appeared lightning started the fire, but Davidson’s fire chief said later Friday night that no evidence of a lightning strike was found, and the cause is still under investigation.

A neighbor spotted thick black smoke coming from the roof at 13612 Robert Walker Drive at around 6:15 p.m. Fire companies from Davidson, Cornelius-Lemley, Odell and Mount Mourne responded, and when firefighters arrived, they saw flames inside the house. Some entered to battle the interior flames, while others climbed onto the roof in the rain to search for flames.

At one point, several firefighters used a saw to cut through an area of the roof next to a chimney, where smoke could be seen seeping out.

“It’s not horrible, it could’ve been a lot worse,” Davidson assistant fire chief Carl Cormier told neighbors as they watched the operation.

Initial reports were that the house had been struck by lightning. But Davidson Fire Chief Jeff Almond said investigators had not been able to confirm the theory. “I made the assumption that lighting was the cause. But they can’t find any evidence,” he told DavidsonNews.net.

He said there were signs that the fire started behind a wall near a fireplace, and traveled up a chimney.

He had said earlier that fire several different parts of the house, even under the house,” where a gas line caught fire, Chief Almond told DavidsonNews.net.

A neighbor said the homeowners were out of town. She and other neighbors were relaying information to the family. Fire officials said the family likely won’t be able to live in the house for a while.

A total of 35 firefighters responded to the fire, along with Davidson Police and Medic. Nobody was injured, the fire chief said.

Cornelius firefighters used a saw to cut through the roof in a search for flames. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Assistant Chief Carl Cormier gives instructions to firefighters. . (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

The scene at 13612 Robert Walker Drive after the blaze was under control. . (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)