HAMPTON -- A man asleep in his home Wednesday afternoon woke up to a neighbor pounding on his door and telling him the house was on fire.

Video: Sky13 Video: Fire rips through Hampton home

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According to Maurice Wilson with the Hampton Fire Dept., a back door neighbor saw smoke coming from the garage of Thomas Harris' Martha Lee Drive home.

About that same time, a next door neighbor noticed smoke and knocked on the door to get him out.

The 3:30 p.m. fire spread from the carport to the home and climbed into the attic, breaking through the roof in several places and shooting flames into the air.

“The homeowner told me he’s puzzled at how the fire started,” Wilson said.  

Harris wasn’t hurt, but one firefighter was taken to the hospital with a shoulder injury.

The fire has been ruled accidental. Investigators say it was electrical in nature and started in the roof area that connects the garage and the house.

Harris lives in the home with his daughter, who wasn't home at the time. The Hampton Roads Chapter of the American Red Cross is helping them tonight.

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