A fire sparked in a Christmas tree destroyed a home in Candlelight Village in Columbus early in the morning on Christmas Eve but the resident was able to escape due to working smoke alarms in the home.

The resident of the home on Rosedale Drive was painting a bedroom at about 12:45 a.m. that morning when the smoke alarm went off. He opened the bedroom door to see the tree on fire and the home filling with thick black smoke, according to Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus FIre Department. The homeowner escaped through a side door.

Wilson said that the fire took about 20 minutes to get under control. The firefighting was complicated  when a firefighter’s foot went through the floor weakened by flames.

The resident said that he had not watered the live tree in several days and that he uses space heaters to heat the home.

The home was a total loss with damages estimated at $30,000. The resident will be staying with family members, Wilson said.