ADAMS TWP — A neighborhood jogger was credited with helping to minimize damage to a townhouse that caught fire Saturday afternoon.

The unidentified man was out for a run just before 2 p.m. when he noticed smoke pouring from the two-story house on Lost Valley Drive in the Adams Ridge housing development.

“He heard the smoke detectors going off,” said Chief Bill Hayes of the Adams Area Fire District, “that’s what alerted the jogger.”

The man immediately called 911 on his cell phone. No one was at the home.

“Smoke was coming from the eaves when we got there,” Hayes said.

A fire crew grabbed several pressured water cans, forced in the door and headed upstairs.

Within 10 to 15 minutes, the fire was out. “The guys did a great job,” Hayes said.

While there was not much water damage, there was some smoke and fire damage, particularly to the second-floor bathroom and ceiling, where the fire apparently started.

“It burned through and charred the tresses in the attic, too,” Hayes said.

A damage estimate was not available. The home was insured.

Authorities did not identify the owners, a couple, who returned home while fire crews were still there. They had left an hour to an hour and a half before the fire call.

Hayes said it appeared that a faulty exhaust fan in the upstairs bathroom started the blaze.

The owners told fire officials that they did not believe they had left the fan on before leaving the house.

Assisting the Adams Area Fire District were firefighters from Cranberry Township and Callery in Butler County and Wexford and Marshall Township in Allegheny County.

Hayes said the fire could have been a lot worse if not for the jogger — and a little luck.

“Five minutes either way, if he had run by five minutes before or five minutes after when he did, that would have been a real solid fire,” Hayes said. “It could have burned the roof off.”