A next-door neighbor may have prevented a weekend fire from causing more destruction than it actually did to a charity’s building that was home to several needy adults and children in Butler.

Smoke and flames could be seen coming from the three-story house in the 400 block of Ridge Avenue shortly before 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

One tenant had made it out of the home, owned by the Lighthouse Foundation, a nonprofit facility that offers transitional housing and emergency shelter to those in need.

But a family of four — two adults and two children — were sleeping in one of the first-floor apartments and apparently were unaware of the fire.

The neighbor next door, who also is a Lighthouse official, saw the fire and ran to the house.

“He ran to the rear of the first-floor apartment and banged on the door and was able to alert the family of the fire,” said Butler Fire Chief Nick Ban. “He woke them up and they were able to get outside safely.

“They were lucky,” Ban said of the family.

No one was injured in the blaze but the house was badly damaged, leaving nine people homeless.

The state police fire marshal is investigating but the fire was believed to be accidental.

“It appears to be electrical or a wiring-type incident,” Ban said. “That place is old and had gone through several renovations over the years.”

Authorities believe the fire started in the kitchen of the second-floor apartment, which included a portion of the attic space.

The first floor is divided into two apartments and the basement has one apartment and the laundry area.

The Lighthouse bought the home about four years ago. The previous owners operated elderly care facilities there. Most recently it was named Lily’s Personal Care Home.

Authorities said the family of four was living in one first-floor apartment and a woman and her son lived in the other apartment on that floor.

A woman and her two daughters were living in the second-floor apartment.

Five people were home when the fire broke out.

The blaring smoke detector awakened the woman sleeping in the upstairs apartment.

“There was so much smoke she could barely see,” Ban said of the woman. “But she eventually saw the fire was coming from her kitchen. It’s fully involved.”

She ran down the stairs to the first floor apartment. She knocked on the door but could get no answer.

Frantic, the woman ran next door to alert the Lighthouse residential director.

The director, whose name was not immediately available, dashed over to the house to help.

“He sees flames blowing out the windows,” Ban said of the neighbor.

He managed to get the family up and out of the of house.

Butler firefighters got there and used a fire escape in the rear of the house to run a hose line up to the second floor.

Another crew used a ladder to get up to the roof and get inside through a window.

The fire was under control in about an hour and was contained to the second and third floors.

Damage to the structure, which is insured, was estimated at $80,000. An additional $20,000 was estimated to the contents. None of the tenants had renter’s insurance.

The Lighthouse and the Butler chapter of the American Red Cross are assisting the families.