A fire destroyed a vacant houseFriday in the 6200 Block of Chilton County Road 37.

No one had lived in the house in several years, according to Randall Thornton, who lives in the area and was on the scene as firefighters worked to extinguish the last few hotspots around the collapsed structure.

Thornton’s grandparents last lived in the house, he said.

“I just happened to see the smoke, and then it turned black,” Thornton said.

A man who had been hired to clean around the property was burning rubbish, and the flame got too close to the house and then caught it on fire, he told Thornton. The incident occurred at about 11 a.m.

The man’s identity couldn’t immediately be determined.

The man was treated on the scene for minor burns to the fingers on one hand, and was released. He was the only person injured in the incident.

Fairview and Cedar Grove fire departments responded to the scene.