WILLIAMSPORT -- An early morning house fire in Williamsport is being blamed on fireworks.
Firetrucks lit up High Street in Williamsport early this Fourth of July, but it's not for the reasons Russell Scott had hoped for.
"I looked across the street and there was a blaze of fire over there," Scott said.
Williamsport Bureau of Fire Platoon Chief Sam Aungst was called just before 4 a.m.
The back porch and then the entire home caught fire. The cause: fireworks.
"This is a spinner and there's a caution label right on the side," Assistant Fire Chief Mark Killian said.
Aungst says the owners weren't home when their grandson lit off a few fireworks in the yard. Instead of dousing them with water, the young man put the used fireworks in a bottle.
"A plastic bottle, put a lid on it, it wasn't completely out. It wasn't able to dissipate the heat," said Aungst.
"Trying to use the water hose to put it out, but got so big that just couldn't help it," said Scott.
"Our recommendations are pretty simple: leave the fireworks to the professionals," Killian said.
Williamsport firefighters are hoping people who decide to light off their own fireworks will be cautious.
"When you're done with the fireworks, our recommendations are to put them in a metal container full of water until the next day and then dispose of them," Killian added.
"It was just like a real surprise that fireworks could just actually make a house go up in flames. That makes us want to take more caution of what we do with the fireworks when they're done," said Kayla Whitenite of Williamsport.
Williamsport firefighters hope the reminder helps others stay safe this Fourth of July.
It was earlier reported that a firefighter suffered a minor burn. That is incorrect.