EVANS CITY — An unattended candle ignited a fire Sunday morning that destroyed a two-story house on South Washington Street, authorities said.

A 14-year-old boy and his girlfriend were in the home when the blaze started about 7 a.m. but were able to escape. The girl, believed to be between 14 and 16, was later treated at a hospital for apparent smoke inhalation.

The boy’s family had rented the house at 126 S. Washington St., and was in the process of moving out after being evicted by owner Patrick Boylan of Zelienople.

His parents and some of their eight children, ages 5 to 16, had recently been staying at a motel during the eviction process, said Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Chief Joe McCombs.

Other children were staying with grandparents.

“The parents had no idea (the 14-year-old) was there (at the rental house),” McCombs said this morning.

The parents believed their son was at his grandparents’ home.

Police did not immediately release the family’s name and the Butler Eagle could not reach them for comment.

The utilities to the Evans City home, including electricity and gas, had previously been shut off.

The boy told police that he and his girlfriend had fallen asleep in the downstairs living room with a candle burning nearby.

“They awoke to fire,” McCombs said.

The boy said he tried in vain to put out the fire before he and his girlfriend fled.

They ran across the street to John Klein’s house for help and a telephone to call 911.

Klein’s daughter, Melissa Klein, who recently moved into the home with her parents, said the boy was distraught.

“He was really upset,” Melissa Klein said. “He was crying the whole time.”

While the boy called 911, Melissa Klein looked out the window. She couldn’t see much at first glimpse.

“Then all of a sudden fire came bursting out of the house, out of the living room,” she said. “The house went up pretty quick”

A Harmony EMS crew showed up and examined the boy’s girlfriend, who was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital to be examined.

The fire that began on the first floor of the brick house soon spread to the second floor, roof and an addition in the rear, said Brian Greenawalt, assistant chief of the Evans City Volunteer Fire Department.

The house is behind the Uni Express convenience store on the corner of South Washington Street and Main Street, though the fire did not spread.

Firefighters had the blaze under control about 25 minutes after arriving, though they remained there for more than four hours to ensure it was out, Greenawalt said.

Harmony, Callery and Connoquenessing volunteer firefighters assisted Evans City VFD.

The house is considered a total loss and nearly all the possessions inside were destroyed, he said.

McCombs said the family renting the house did not have insurance on their belongings

He said police are helping to set up an assistance fund at a bank to aid the family.

Boylan, who is the owner and funeral director of Boylan Funeral Home on Main Street in Evans City, has insurance on the house.

A state police deputy fire marshal was to begin an investigation today, police said, although the blaze is not considered suspicious.

“It’s believed to be accidental,” McCombs said, “and nothing leads us in any other direction except that it was caused by the candle.”

He said police spoke to both the boy and his girlfriend as well as the boy’s mother as part of the investigation.

McCombs said police did not expect to file charges.

“At this point,” he said, “charges are probably not a probability.”