A Waterloo home was completely consumed by flames late Thursday morning.

“A total loss,” Waterloo Fire Chief Mark Yeager said. “One hundred percent gone.”

The Waterloo Fire Department responded to the fire at 900 Gall Road near Schewe Falls shortly after 11:40 a.m.

There was no one inside the structure when the fire occurred, but five dogs and two cats perished in the blaze. The Columbia Fire Department was requested for tanker support to help extinguish the fire.

Yeager explained that the flames were too intense for firefighters to rescue the animals.

“There was nothing we could do,” he said.

Jamie Davis, the daughter of Shelly and Paul Fahey, told the Republic-Times at the scene that she had left the house to pick up her son from preschool, and upon her return there were flames shooting out of the windows with heavy black smoke. Davis’s daughter was attending grade school at the time.

“She might’ve been gone 15 to 20 minutes,” Yeager said of Davis.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department, Monroe County EMS and Waterloo Police Department also assisted at the scene.

The residence was an older wooden frame farm home with tin roof and a fenced-in area with several horses nearby. Chief Yeager said the home was built in the early 1900s. Firearms and ammunition were inside the front part of the home, but it is unknown if that played any role in the blaze.

“We have no idea on a cause at this time,” Yeager said, adding that the State Fire Marshal will arrive Friday to investigate.

Davis is staying at a hotel temporarily and is also being assisted by family and friends.

“They lost everything they had,” Yeager said. “It’s just a sad reminder that it can happen at any time.”

Firemen were called back out to the scene around 6 p.m. Thursday and again Friday morning for a rekindling of the fire.

A GoFundMe.com account has been created in an effort to raise funds to help out the family affected by Thursday’s fire. To pitch in, click here.

To view a short iPhone video from the scene, click here.