Flames that destroyed a Springhill Township home early Monday morning also damaged a post office next door.

Authorities said the fire was first reported at a house on Lake Lynn Road about 2 a.m.

Firefighters said Clarence Leppard was inside the home and was burning papers in his fireplace when one blew out and caught a chair on fire.

“I was out of here in no time with a hose trying to put it out,” Leppard said.

Leppard said he tried to put out the fire with a garden hose, but was unsuccessful.

He then made it out safely, but the house was destroyed and his dog ran away.

“I would have never made it. It was so red in the back of the house. The house was gone by the time I got out,” Leppard said.

Officials said the flames spread to nearby Lake Lynn Post Office. Authorities haven’t said how badly the post office was damaged or if any mail was damaged.

A sign on the post office’s front door tells people to pick up their mail at the Point Marion Post Office.

Michelle Chipps lives across the street from Leppard and said she felt the intense flames.

“We were on the front porch and the heat itself literally made us come in. It was so intense and then the transformer was exploding. It was really scary,” Chipps said.

No injuries were reported in the fire.