Firefighters were working Friday to douse a predawn blaze at a home in southwest Atlanta.

The fire was reported just after 5:30 a.m. at a house in the 1400 block of Metropolitan Parkway near Deckner Avenue.

Atlanta fire Battalion Chief Todd Edwards told the AJC that firefighters arrived to what “appeared to be a small, one-story frame house,” but said the house “had numerous additions and turned out to be extremely large with a very big attic space.”

“The problem we encountered is this is an older building that has plaster ceilings and walls, so the fire was able to get into the ceiling and ran all the way through the structure,” Edwards said. “Biggest fight was getting the ceiling down to get up into the fire area itself.”

No injuries were reported.

Edwards said the home’s occupant had recently died, and the house was for sale.

“All the belongings were still inside the house and apparently there’s been some vagrant activity going on, according to some of the neighbors,” Edwards said. “The house was in the process of being boarded up, but was still unsecured when we arrived.”

The cause of the fire has not been determined.