Greenwood Volunteer Fire Company was dispatched just before 1 p.m. Sunday for a house fire at 1850 Bellemeade Drive in Bellmeade. The blaze left a family of three homeless. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

A fire Sunday afternoon largely destroyed a house on the 1800 block of Bell­meade Drive in Greenwood, displacing a family of three, but injuring no one.

When firefighters arrived, there were flames and smoke coming from the basement and extending into the first floor of the ranch-style house, which has a garage at the level of the basement, which itself is only partially below ground, according to Greenwood Fire Department Chief Mark Rispoli and photographs he supplied.

The three who lived there were home at the time, but escaped without difficulty, according to Rispoli.

Firefighters first attacked the fire from outside, then made an “aggressive” interior approach, Rispoli said.

About a third of the house burned, while the rest was damaged by smoke and water, he said, noting that with insurance, the house would likely be declared a total loss.

The fire seems to have started in the basement. A state police fire marshal is investigating, Rispoli said.

In addition to Greenwood, the United, Lakemont and Newburg fire companies were on the scene with a total of about 25 firefighters.

Bellwood fire company was standing by in Greenwood.

The Salvation Army asked the fire victims if they needed help, and the victims said they weren’t in need of assistance from that organization, according to Salvation Army Major Christopher Blessing.

He assumes they went to stay with family or friends, Blessing said.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family at gofundme.com/f/support-for-jannell-anthony-and-conor-after-the-fire.

“In an instant, everything they owned was gone,” the site organizer wrote. “Jannell and Anthony, along with their son Conor and their new puppy Duncan, are now facing the overwhelming task of rebuilding their lives from the ground up. From clothing and personal belongings to household essentials and irreplaceable memories… they lost it all,” the post states.

The account is intended “to help them cover immediate needs and long-term rebuilding costs,” the organizer wrote.

As of Monday evening, 320 people had donated a total of $35,000 toward a goal of $60,000, up from the $20,000 goal posted Sunday and the $35,000 goal posted earlier Monday.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.