ELMIRA, N.Y. (WENY) - A father, his three children and the family dog all escaped an early-morning housefire that damaged two houses in Southport after a neighbor woke the family up on Monday, June 12th. That's according to Southport Fire Department Chief James Allington, who said the house next door was damaged by radiant heat from the fire. 

While the father, his three children and the dog were all able to make it out of the house unharmed, Allington said Code Enforcement has posted the house as uninhabitable. Red Cross is working to help the family. 

Despite being damaged in the fire by radiant heat, Allington said the neighbor's house is considered safe to live in. The Southport Fire Department responded to the scene at around 4:30 AM located near the intersection of Cedar and Hopkins Streets.

Soon after the call was put out for additional assistance, and the Horseheads Fire Department and Wellsburg Fire Department were among those who responded. Allington said knocking down the fire took about half an hour, but that it was initially complicated by the fact that wires were downed as a result of the blaze. 

The cause of the fire is being investigated by state and county fire investigators.