GLOSTER &045; An unoccupied two-story house three miles east of Gloster was heavily damaged by fire Thursday afternoon.

Five Wilk-Amite area fire departments responded to the blaze, which was reported to the Gloster Fire Department first at 2:02 p.m.

Smoke and flames billowed from the rooftop and dormers of the wood-frame structure, located at 2655 Antioch-Perkins Road.

Some firemen emptied their hoses and raced back to Gloster to refill their tanks.

According to Marie Porter, the house belongs to her son, Steven Thompson.

Porter said Thompson was at work in Texas, and she reported the blaze.

&uot;I was driving by and I looked up there and thought I saw dust, so I went up there to see about it.

When I got closer and saw the smoke I went back to my sister-in-law’s house and called the fire department,&uot; Porter said.

Amite County Fire Marshal Nelson Dawson and Gloster Police Chief Tommie Lee were on the scene gathering information about the fire.

Lee, who is also deputized in Amite County, was unsure of the cause of the blaze, but said the fire appeared to have started upstairs.

Lee said the electricity had been previously disconnected from the house. Dawson said he would contact the State Fire Marshal’s office to request assistance with the investigation.