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Members of the Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house fire on Endsley Quarry Lane Wednesday evening that is suspected to have been caused by a gas leak in the structure.

According to Steve Hargis, public information officer for the Friendsville Volunteer Fire Department, the owner of the 226 Endsley Quarry Lane residence, Jeff C. McDaniel, reported that he and his family were home when they heard a rumble and went outside to investigate. They found the cellar door open, but didn't think much of it, closed the door and went back inside. About five minutes later, they started to smell and see smoke and contacted emergency personnel at about 7:13 p.m.

Firefighters were at the scene by 7:17 p.m. and were able to confine a fire found underneath the house to the crawl space and part of the house's wall, Hargis said.

It appeared that a water heater in the crawl space ignited some sort of gas leak, causing the fire, he said.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire. Firefighters — 13 responded with four trucks — had the fire under control by 8:47 p.m. and cleared the scene of the fire at 8:50 p.m.