SMYRNA — Multiple Chenango County fire departments responded to a house fire in Smyrna on Monday night that injured one resident and destroyed his home along Stowell Road.

An elderly man was transported by helicopter to SUNY Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse with apparent second- and third-degree burns, said Matthew Beckwith, the Chenango County fire coordinator.

Beckwith said officials received a 911 call a little before 11 p.m. on Monday night. Emergency services were then dispatched by Smyrna, Sherburne and Georgetown Fire Departments, as well as the Norwich ambulance.

“When I first arrived, there were a bunch of family members around taking care of an elderly gentleman. The house was fully involved and the home next door was starting to catch on fire— it was chaos,” said Norman Wynn, Smyrna’s fire chief.

Wynn said the man and his adult son lived at the home and were asleep at the time the fire started. He said the fire began near an electric heater in the elderly man's bedroom, and the man did not wake up. Wynn said the son smelled smoke and ran to help his father.

“They were sleeping. The fire started in his bedroom, and he was asleep,” Wynn said. “The son came in, woke him up and got him out of there.”

A preliminary investigation ruled the likely cause of the fire as accidental, Beckwith said. The home was a total loss.

Crews dispersed about five hours after the initial call at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Beckwith said.

Wynn thanked the mutual aid from neighboring departments. “Everyone did a good job,” Wynn said.