JAY– A family of five lost their home to a fire Sunday afternoon.

Fire departments from Jay, Upper Jay, AuSable, Wilmington and Keene Valley were dispatched to 37 Howard Heights Lane just after 4 p.m.

“The inside had heavy smoke and heat, and there was smoke coming from the eaves and three chimneys,” Jay Fire Chief Max Thwaits said of the fire when responders started arriving.

“There were flames coming from the window of the bathroom.”

Thwaits said that there was an amazing response from the mutual aid system that led to some of the belongings in the home being saved. Unfortunately, the home was left unlivable, he added.

Christopher Hozley, a corrections officer, and Joan Hozley, a 911 dispatcher in Essex County, were displaced from the home, along with their three daughters, Thwaits said.

He added that both of the family’s dogs were saved, but a cat and some rabbits were lost in the blaze.

A GoFundMe page has been started to help support the family at tinyurl.com/vmrm4sg, and a Facebook post with needed clothing size information can be found on the Jay Volunteer Fire Department’s page at tinyurl.com/uoc6cld.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.