Chionchio said the homeowner returned the mower to an attached garage after cutting the lawn in the well-tended neighborhood, and the hot mower sparked a blaze that quickly spread to the attic above the garage and then to the rest of the house. ?EUR??,,????'??You could see the plume of smoke when we were coming down Valley Road,?EUR??,,????'?? said Hockessin Fire Company Deputy Chief Drew Outten, who was on the first engine to arrive at the scene. Flames were shooting from the house as the trucks arrived, and Outten said the fire did such damage that firefighters were inside the home for only a few minutes.

By 4 p.m. on a Saturday, the last of the fire equipment and emergency officials were leaving the scene. But neighbors still were bringing bottled water, empty boxes and whatever they could, to the stunned family who lost almost everything but their lives.

The roof was gone, the walls were splinters and at least two vehicles were destroyed in the three-car garage. About $1,000 in damage was done to a neighbor?EUR??,,????'???s vinyl siding, which curled as the heat of the blaze reached it. It is not known what type of ride-on mower started the blaze.