Several fire companies responded to a house fire on the 800-block of Perry Highway in Lancaster Township earlier this afternoon. The property was abandoned, according to 911 reports. Crews were on scene for about 4 hours.

LANCASTER TWP — A weekend fire that destroyed a mobile home on Route 19 was intentionally set, authorities said.

The house was abandoned and had no utilities turned on, according to investigators.

“It’s definitely an arson,” Trooper DuWayne Baird, a deputy fire marshal at the Butler barracks, said this morning.

Baird said he found evidence that someone had set papers, books and other items on fire in the basement of the double-wide mobile home on a foundation.

It appeared that several small fires were ignited in the basement and spread quickly to the upstairs at the home in the 800 block of Route 19.

The fire call came in shortly after 1:10 p.m. Saturday when a neighbor spotted the blaze.

“Flames were coming out several parts of the house when we arrived,” said Chief Neal Nanna of the Harmony Volunteer Fire Company.“

“We made an interior attack initially but the fire was too far gone and we pulled everyone out.”

Between 60 and 65 firefighters from 10 departments in three counties took up defensive positions around the house and used a tanker shuttle to pour water on the structure.

Authorities tapped into the nearest available fire hydrant, about a mile away, for their water source.

Firefighters not only had to battle flames but the unforgiving heat, too.

Concern over heat exhaustion caused Nanna to call numerous departments from Butler as well as Lawrence and Beaver counties to ensure adequate manpower.

Temperatures during the fire soared in the upper 80s and prompted EMS to set up a cooling and hydration station for crews.

“The heat made it extremely tough,” Nanna admitted. No injuries, however, were reported.

Firefighters were at the scene for more than four hours.

Authorities did not immediately know who owned the house, which had been abandoned for up to four years. Investigators found stray clothing on the main floor but no furniture.

Baird said there was a mattress and other miscellaneous items in the basement.

He said he is assisting Lancaster Township police in the arson investigation.