MCCARTYVILLE — Three children escaped unharmed after their house caught fire early Wednesday morning.

A fire that began in a shed spread to a house at 9441 State Route 119 in McCartyville, Van Buren Township Fire Chief Chuck Axe said. Axe said a retired firefighter who lives nearby, Dan Wuebker, spotted the fire and alerted the three children in the house. They got out unharmed. He said smoke had not yet entered the house, so the children were not aware of the fire. Their father, Eric Noble, was not home because he was at work. Firefighters also got two cats and a dog safely out of the house.

Axe said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but it is not suspicious. The fire did about $90,000 damage, he said.

Firefighters were able to stop the blaze in the attic of the house, Axe said. However, a sunroom was destroyed. He said the family will be able to move back into the house after repairs are made. The family is being assisted by the Red Cross and is staying at a motel, he said.

Firefighters responded to the fire at 5:51 a.m. and were on the scene about five hours. In addition to Van Buren Township, other departments responding were Anna, Botkins and Jackson Center, and Anna Rescue.