A family in Utopia is homeless and staying in a hotel after a fire destroyed their home yesterday, Aug. 19.

They had been living there since December.

Today, the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office as well as the Essa Fire Department are on scene piecing together what caused the fire.

No one in the house was injured, but three firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Four people were home when a fire broke out in the garage, where there wasn't a fire alarm. Fire crews say everyone was able to get out safely, but the fire moved quickly, gutting the entire house.

“Within 10 minutes it almost looked like the whole house was up in flames,” says neighbour Tania Krans.

Krans lives down the road from the house and along with many of her neighbours watched as the grey stone home went up in flames. Smoke could be seen billowing from as far as Dunlop Street and Highway 400, which brought in a number of onlookers, creating a big problem for fire crews.

“People were coming to see the house burn down and blocking the road so firefighters had to wait for these people to make room. So they were preventing the fire trucks from actually getting down,” says Krans.

There are no fire hydrants in the area, so tanker trucks had to cart in water from a nearby river.

“It becomes incredibly difficult to get trucks in, turned around, dump their load, and we have to do it in a timely fashion … in order to supply the quantity of water you need for a house this size,” says Essa Township Fire Chief Paul Macdonald. “Is it a challenge? Absolutely.”

He says it was all hands on deck as crews battled the fire. Two firefighters were cut by glass, and another had to be taken to hospital with heat-related injuries. They are expected to be fine. It was a tough fight because the house was unstable. About 30 firefighters responded from Essa and Springwater departments and used 23 loads of water.

“This should be a fairly easy fire, but we can't get in to do what we have to do, so it is going to take a long time and a lot of water and a lot of effort,” MacDonald says.

The house in Utopia is a total loss and crews spent the night tending to hotspots. The home is insured.

CTV News remains on the scene today and will provide updated details as they become available.