Crews investigate house fire near downtown Colorado Springs

The Colorado Springs Fire Department is investigating the cause of a house fire south of downtown.

Firefighters responded just before 9 a.m. Sunday to a home on Cascade Avenue near the intersection of Fountain Boulevard.

The fire caused extensive damage to the home but firefighters quickly put it out and kept it from spreading to adjacent homes.

Kathleen O’Sullivan said she and her husband, Kevin, live at the home and escaped safely.

“I came out of the bathroom and I could smell smoke,” she said. “Kevin was out in the backyard working on his bike. I thought maybe something was left on the stove. Kevin came in and went running to the front of the house, and came to the back and said that the house is burning down, and to get out now.”

O’Sullivan said she and her husband have lived at the home for 32 years and finished payments on it three years ago.

She said her four cats were missing immediately after the fire.

The Red Cross is helping the O’Sullivans.