Great Falls — While driving down Route 7 in the early hours of Sunday morning, a passerby noticed flames billowing out from a two-story house at 1065 Northfalls Court in Great Falls. This person called 9-1-1 and rushed to knock on the door of the house across the street to warn neighbors.

This is according to neighbor Robert Marro, who lives just two doors down.

“We got up at 3 a.m. and there were six or seven vehicles surrounding the house,” he says. “It took about 15 or 20 minutes for the fire brigade to put it out. The roof is gone and the inside is totally gutted.”

Firefighters had to attack the fire from the exterior of the home due to the large volume of fire, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

Marro’s neighbors started a phone chain to warn each other about the fire. “Everyone was so nervous that it would spread because of the high winds,” he says.

“It was a total shock,” he says. “The house is totally destroyed.”

The family just moved into the house a couple months ago, according to Marro. “Apparently, they were on vacation,” he says. “We were concerned that they were inside.”

The fire department confirms that there were no occupants home when the fire occurred. There were also no firefighter or civilian injuries during the firefight.

An investigation into the fire has determined that it started in a second-floor bedroom, but the exact cause is still under investigation.

Damages were estimated to be $726,250, the total value of the home.