A pre-dawn fire off Altapass Road in Spruce Pine kept six area fire departments, as well as police and rescue personnel busy for five hours as the emergency crews battled a house fire at 139 Oakland Avenue in sub-freezing temperatures Friday morning. Emergency spokesman Chris Westveer said the call came in a little before 6:00 a.m. and that when the fire crews arrived a short time later smoke was billowing out of the structure and there were signs of a pretty significant fire located in the basement crawl space of the house. Firefighters made several attempts to try and contain the blaze but due to the remote location of the fire, the house burned extensively. It took firefighters almost three hours to get the fire extinguished and under control after ventilating the roof and several other areas to be able to get to the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Westveer. Firefighters from Spruce Pine, Parkway, Ledger, Newdale, Bakersville and Green Valley Fire Departments all pitched in to battle the blaze. Units from the Spruce Pine Police Department shut down a part of Altapass Road for around four hours due to the fire and all of the emergency equipment in the area. The occupants of the house were outside when emergency personnel arrived and no injuries were reported in the incident. Westveer cautioned people to check their fire and smoke detectors in their houses because most fires happen in the winter months when people are trying to heat their homes and stay warm.