Firefighters battle stubborn house fire in St. Thomas, Ont. Friday

Firefighters in St. Thomas responded to a house fire in the city's north end late Friday morning.

Firefighters in St. Thomas responded to a house fire late Friday morning.

Few details are known at this time, but the fire started shortly after 11 a.m. and was located at a home on Talbot Street across from the statue of Jumbo, in the city’s north end.

The home was reportedly filled with flames when fire crews arrived. No one was home at the time, but firefighters did rescue a dog from the home.

"Upon arrival there were heavy fire conditions due to the amount of fire load in the house. We did call full call-back to bring all off-duty crews in and we're still on scene now,” said Kim Destun, chief fire prevention officer.

A witness says the smoke could be seen all the way from the south end of St. Thomas. Neighbours also say that the fire was stubborn and that there were a number of flare-ups.

"The home was just a mess, [filled with] black smoke. They'd get the flames down and then — all of sudden — the flames would come out of the doors. It was a mess. They'd get it cleaned up…stopped…and it would start up again,” said neighbour Bonny Rice.

The street is currently blocked off.