Just two days after Christmas, fire has driven an East Hempfield Township family from their home.

Monday's blaze at 1080 Snapper Dam Road began in the back of the renovated 18th-century stone farmhouse and spread to the roof, causing extensive damage.

Smoke billowed from holes chopped through the roof by firefighters to get at the stubborn blaze.

"There was heavy fire in the roof," Hempfield Fire Company Deputy Chief Adam Soders said. "The problem now is the roof has multiple layers, and we have to get them apart because we still have hot spots in there."

Soders could not confirm initial reports that the fire began in the chimney.

"The fire marshal has been called in," Soders said. "He'll be looking for the cause."

The owner, who was home when the 4:45 p.m. blaze broke out, called 911.

"Everyone made it out," said Soders, who had no estimate of damages.

A brisk wind and biting cold were minor hindrances to fighting the fire.

"On some of the hydrants, the caps were a little frozen," Soders said, "and it took a while to get them open."

The cold also created slippery conditions as water froze on the ground and in the street around the house.

To help firefighters battling the blaze as well as the frigid weather, East Hempfield Township police called on Red Rose Transit to supply a bus. Inside the vehicle, emergency personnel had a place to warm up before returning to duty.

Soders said he thinks the two-and-a-half story stone home damaged by Monday's fire dates to the 1700s.

lalexander@lnpnews.com