A lunchtime kitchen fire nearly destroyed a Stewart Street home in Andalusia Thursday.

Andalusia fire chief Ethan Dorsey said firefighters were dispatched to the home shortly before noon and arrived to find the rear of the home completely engulfed.

“It appears that most of the significant damage was contained in the kitchen, but the entire home has smoke and heat damage,” Dorsey said.

The family, whose identity was not immediately known, was at home at the time of the fire, Dorsey said. No one was injured during the fire, he said.

“We were told that it began somewhere in the area of the stove before it spread throughout the kitchen,” he said.

City utility workers quickly disconnected power cables to avoid further damage to the home and to the firefighters working to put out the blaze.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states cooking fires are the No. 1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries, and that more than half of home cooking fires started with the ignition of food or other cooking materials.

It is recommended that all homes be equipped with a fire extinguisher, and that homeowners should never hesitate to call 911 when faced with a kitchen fire.