Rocky Mount firefighters battled to extinguish a blaze Monday afternoon at a house on the 900 block of Arlington Street while friends and family of the residents held hands and prayed nearby.

Crews responded around 3:20 p.m. to a structure fire at a small white house that took crews nearly an hour to get the fire under control.

“There were heavy flames and smoke showing from the front of the structure to the rear of the structure when we arrived,” Battalion Chief D.A. Taylor said. “The fire got into the attic above our heads and each room had a drop ceiling that made it difficult to reach the fire.”

The residents of the house were out when crews arrived, but spent the afternoon consoling one another.

Resident Christopher Johnson said they’d been renting the house for several years and had rental insurance.

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

The American Red Cross responded to assist the family with temporary housing and necessities. The fire is under investigation.