A fire with a quick headstart ravaged the interior of a Lower Macungie Township home on Saturday evening.

With fire shooting out a front bow window upon his arrival, Chief David Nosal of the Lower Macungie Fire Department quickly called a second alarm at 6:38 p.m. Homeowner Sarah Anthony, the only occupant at 1450 Brookside Road, near Cornerstone Road, left the home on her own without injury, but her two cats perished.

Nosal said the cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but the concentration of fire was in the front of the house.

"The inside needs to be totally gutted," he said. "The vast majority of the living space was involved, whether it was by heat or smoke or fire."

The arrival of the first pumper was important, Nosal said, because it was the one unit with the new technology of a compressed air foam system. That feature allowed initial firefighters to suppress the flames faster and with a need for much less water.

The knockdown was relatively quick, and Nosal called the fire under control in about 30 minutes once he determined the fire was extinguished.

The home is uninhabitable, Nosal said. Anthony will be staying with relatives.

Plywood now covers the windows. Although much of the interior is gutted, Nosal said the exterior of the structure appears to be in good shape because of its brick construction.

Assisting Lower Macungie firefighters were personnel from Trexlertown, Alburtis, Cetronia, a cascade unit from Woodlawn, a standby emergency rescue team from Allentown and Macungie EMS.