A small house fire occurred at approximately 9:20 p.m. Wednesday at 2215 Calhoun St., directly behind Monroe Hall.

The fire was reported by a Tulane student passing by the home who noticed smoke coming from the back of the residence. After placing the call, the young woman rang the doorbell of the home and woke the only person there at the time of the fire.

Homeowner Blaire Lancaster was relieved that the student rang the doorbell.

“Thank God, because my dad was in the front and didn’t know that the house was on fire and he was the only one in the house by himself,” Lancaster said. “So he came out and the fire trucks came and did everything they could.”

The blaze was extinguished at approximately 10 p.m.

Earlier in the day, Lancaster said there were roofers working on the home and that the fire department was investigating whether or not it could be connected to the initial cause of the fire.

“We’re not positive, but they were back there with blowtorches working on the roof where it happened, so it makes pretty good sense,” Lancaster said.

Residents of the home said that the blaze was contained to the back of the house and no people were harmed during the fire; however, the family is currently searching for two cats that were lost and possibly ran away during the fire.

The New Orleans Fire Department could not comment on the cause of the fire.

Alexa Christianson contributed to the reporting of this article.