A Niles man returned home from work to find his house on fire Monday afternoon, prompting at least four fire departments to respond to the blaze.

Fred Goffeney said he had just clocked out from his job and was driving on Huntly Road in Howard Township around 3 p.m. when he saw smoke coming from his single-story home at 2665 Huntly Road

He was not certain what he was seeing at first.

“I thought that I’d never seen smoke like that from a drier,” he said. “It was just pouring off the roof.”

Goffeney’s thoughts quickly turned to his wife, Marion, whom he later found out was not at home because she had left to pick up a grandchild.

“I was just hoping she wasn’t there,” he said.

Before calling for help, Fred raced inside and rescued their small dog, which was in a cage.

“It was just starting to get some smoke in the kitchen,” he said.

Fred placed the dog in a vehicle in the driveway as firefighters responded one by one from Howard, Niles Township, Niles and Pokagon fire departments. Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service also parked nearby as concerned neighbors gathered to watch the smoke drift out and over the snow covered roof.

Fred is not sure what started the fire, but said he has not had any problems like this in the 13 or 14 years he has lived there.

Firefighters were still working the fire out as the Daily Star went to press.

The cause is not yet determined.