Food left cooking on top of a stove may be to blame for a fire Friday that has heavily damaged a home about two miles west of the Upper Valley Mall near Springfield.

Traffic was stopped at approximately 4 p.m. while crews battled the blaze at 2515 Troy Road.

The homeowners, Walter and Doris Mills, were home at the time of the fire but were able to get out OK.

Part of the home was rented and those residents, including a pet, also escaped unharmed.

German Twp. Chief Tim Holman said the fire started on a stove. Witnesses told the Springfield News Sun the stove where the fire started was in the rented part of the house.

The second floor of the home caved in and the house is expected to be a total loss, Holman said.

The homeowners told the Springfield News Sun they have lived in the home since 1978 and had remodeled from a previous fire.

Neighboring jurisdictions provided mutual aid, including Pike Twp., Springfield Twp. and Springfield City.