SPENCER — Three residents were displaced on Tuesday afternoon when their home in Spencer suffered severe damage from a fire.

Firefighters were called to the home, located in the 500 block of Charles Street, at approximately 1:53 p.m. in reference to a reported structure fire, said Spencer Fire Chief Michael Lanning.

Lanning said that a resident was in the home at the time the fire started. She told fire officials that she was upstairs and she smelled what seemed like burnt food coming from the basement of the home. When she went downstairs to investigate, she found a room in the basement on fire and called 911. The resident was able to escape the home with a family dog before firefighters arrived on scene. Lanning confirmed that neither the resident nor any firefighters were injured in the fire.

Spencer firefighters arrived on scene shortly after the call and found that the fire had expanded from the basement into the attic. Lanning said that the incident required both intensive labor from firefighters in extinguishing the fire and an intensive overhaul to ensure that no fire remained in the building.

Two adults and one child were displaced by the damage and the Red Cross has been contacted to assist them, said Lanning.

The fire is under investigation by the Rowan County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Spencer, East Spencer, Salisbury, Churchland, Miller’s Ferry, Ellis Cross Country and Union fire departments all assisted in the efforts along with Rowan Rescue Squad and Rowan County EMS personnel.