Rocky Mount firefighters are at the scene of a house fire that started around 3:20 p.m. Monday.

Crews responded to the 900 block of Arlington Street where a small white house was on fire, sending flames and smoke into the cool afternoon air. Battalion Chief D.A. Taylor said the fire extended into the attic space, making it difficult for crews to extinguish the blaze after more than an hour at the scene.

Several people were in the rental home when the fire allegedly started in the kitchen, but no one was injured.

“I was outside working on the car when they came to the back door and said the kitchen was on fire,” resident Christopher Johnson said. “There was nothing I could do about it.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.