BUTLER TWP — Fire ignited above a furnace room late Thursday night and forced a couple from their home on Williams Road, authorities said.

George and Carol Pry were not injured, and their house had only minimal damage in the blaze about 10:15 p.m. The couple was able to save their pets, two dogs and a cat.

“I had just taken my shower and was getting ready for bed when all the alarms went off and the house started filling with smoke,” George Pry said this morning while employees of a fire restoration company surveyed the damage at 139 Williams Road.

“It was quite a surprise I’ll tell you,” he said.

Pry said he and his wife won’t be able to move back into the house for at least a month.

“There’s a lot of smoke damage, water damage, and, of course, fire damage,” he said.

The couple plans to stay with relatives until the damage is repaired

Township police were the first to get there and found smoke and heat coming from around the basement area in the rear of the home. Pry said firefighters initially had trouble locating the blaze, which was in the rear of the ranch-style home in the floor joists between the main floor and the finished basement

Meridian volunteer firefighters arrived and went inside. The fire appeared to have smoldered itself out before kicking back up, said Chief Toby Wehr of the Meridian Volunteer Fire Company.

The blaze was extinguished for good and confined to the basement. Most of the fire damage was to the floor joists, Wehr said.

Damage is estimated at $15,000 to the house and another $5,000 to its contents, fire officials said. The property is insured.

The suspected electrical fire remains under investigation.

Assisting the Meridian were firefighters from Lyndora, Greenwood Village, Mercer Road and South Butler.

They remained there for about two hours