By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

BROOKFIELD— Fire gutted a home on Molasses Hill Road yesterday, leaving a family homeless and two pets dead.

Assistant Fire Chief Herbert A. Chaffee II said a firefighter who lives in the area reported smelling heavy smoke while neighbors began calling in reports that they believed something was burning just before 11:30 a.m. Firefighters went to the home, which is not visible from the street, and found the split-level ranch fully involved with flames shooting from the roof.

Assistant Chief Chaffee said the fire appeared to have been burning for some time.

Mutual aide from West Brookfield, East Brookfield, North Brookfield, Spencer, Sturbridge, Warren and Brimfield was called in and water was taken from a pond at Tantasqua Regional High School on Route 148 and shuttled to the scene by tanker trucks.

Assistant Chief Chaffee said the house was not numbered and he was unsure of the exact address last night. He believed the home was in the 20 block on the rural stretch.

No one was home at the time of the fire and the name of the family living there was not available though they are believed to be a family of four or five with three school-age children. Assistant Chief Chaffee said they were being helped by the Red Cross and were staying with neighbors.

He said the house was a total loss and the state fire marshal’s office had been called in to help determine a cause. A cat and a dog are believed to have perished in the blaze.

About 30 firefighters were at the scene until about 3 p.m., he said.