WOODSFIELD — A Woodsfield home is considered a total loss after a suspected electrical fire Monday evening.

Woodsfield Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Young said the department received a call around 5:30 p.m. regarding a house fire next door to Skyline Automotives along Ohio 78 in the village. The house is owned by the automotive sales business and rented out to a couple who are employed by the store.

Young said the people who rent the house were not injured. The wife was asleep in the home while the husband was working as a shop mechanic next door.

Young said the man saw the smoke coming from the home and ran in to alert his wife. Both occupants were able to exit the home unharmed.

Young said the structure was fully involved in flames when the firefighters arrived on scene. It took around 45 minutes to get the blaze under control.

Local fire and EMS crews remained on scene for over three hours to ensure the fire was completely extinguished, he said. The Lewisville, Clarington and Sardis fire departments assisted in the call.

Although the cause of the fire is undetermined, Young said he suspects it was caused by an electrical heater or some sort of an electrical issue in the house.

There was no damage to the automotive sales building or its vehicles, however the house is considered a total loss, Young said.

“They (the couple living in the house) lost everything — they lost their telephones, clothing, all that stuff,” he said.

Young said the Red Cross is assisting the family with the essentials to help them get restarted. Representatives of a local church also arrived on scene to offer a financial donation to the couple, he said.

A Gofundme.com effort to assist the couple was started Tuesday by James Woronick, who indicates he was a resident of the burned home. He said they “lost everything but the clothes on our backs. We need whatever type of help you can offer at this time … “

The goal of the fundraiser is set at $1,000, and $691 had been raised by Tuesday evening.