BUTLER TWP - Firefighter Larry Kley was attending fire school Wednesday night when his pager sounded.

The message: Respond to a structure fire.

Class was interrupted as he and his 16-year-old son, who is training to become a junior firefighter, left Butler County Community College, hopped in Kley's car and headed out.

"I told my son, 'You get to go on your first call tonight.,' "Kley said.

Little did father and son know they were headed to their own house.

Kley got the bad news while still driving his car. He was uncertain what house on Victor Road was on fire so he used his cell phone to call the home of another firefighter, whose wife uneasily filled him in.

"She told me, 'I hate to tell you over the phone, but it's your house,'" Kley said. His heart sank.

Kley's childhood home at 145 Victor Road, just down the road from the Mercer Road Fire Hall, was destroyed in the 6:40 p.m. fire.

Fire officials believe an oil-filled heater left burning accidentally ignited a rocker/recliner.

No one was injured in the blaze. Kley's wife, Sheila, was not at home.

Chief Keven Kelly of the Mercer Road Volunteer Fire Company had just showered and was getting ready to attend the same fire school at BC3 as Kley when he heard the call over his scanner.

He walked out of his house, two houses down from the Kleys' home, and saw the flames. Within seconds, his pager went off. He already knew.

"I could see flames shooting out the back and heavy smoke out the front and back," Kelly said.

The sudden and incessant barking of his four German shepherds alerted Pat Christy, who lives next door to the Kleys' house.

"I was watching TV and my dogs began barking; they wouldn't stop," Christy said. "Then I heard popping, like fireworks."

He peered outside and saw flames coming from next door. He called 911 but another neighbor had already made the call.

About 60 firefighters from four departments quickly descended upon the Kleys' single-story, seven-room home.

"We attacked it from the outside through a rear window, and then went inside," Kelly said.

The flames were snuffed out in about 15 minutes. Smoke bellowed from the structure for hours."It looks like it was started by the heater in the living area," Kelly said. "The heater was left on. They forgot to shut it off."Fire officials this morning did not have a damage estimate for the home and contents, which were insured.The Butler chapter of the American Red Cross assisted and provided temporary housing for Larry and Sheila Kley at a Butler Township motel. Their son is staying with a family member.Kley said his parents had owned the house for years and he had grown up there. He later bought the house from his parents' estate and had lived there with his own family for more than 10 years."It hurts," he said as he watched firefighters tackle the blaze.A longtime Mercer Road VFC firefighter, Kley never suited up in his firefighting gear."That was my call, under the circumstances," he said.