The house, on the 1600 block of March Drive, sustained nearly $70,000 in damage and has been deemed unlivable, said Capt. Scott Cagle with the Hall County Fire Department.

The fire was a result of an apparent cooking accident that occurred shortly before 3 a.m., said Cagle.

One of the home’s eight residents left a pan of grease on a hot stove, and later discovered it had caught fire.

The resident then notified all the others in the house, and they began getting valuables out of the home before calling 911.

Firefighters responded to the 2:56 a.m. report of a fire, but by the time they arrived, 50 percent of the four-bedroom house was in flames. Firefighters initially had to fight the fire from the outside of the house because of the intensity of the blaze.

"They didn’t go in initially, because the fire had engulfed over half the house," Cagle said.

Still, the Hall County department was able to get the blaze under control in about 15 minutes, and fight it from the inside without incident. The 1,800-square-foot home was damaged significantly, and is no longer inhabitable.

The American Red Cross has been notified for housing assistance.

Jason Stringer, the owner of the home, had been renting it to eight relatives when it caught fire Monday morning.