Fire destroyed a two-story wood-frame house this morning at 36 Vintage Lane, off Hartman Road.

The occupants weren't home when the fire was called in at 6:42 a.m., said Harold Williamson, chief of the Mosheim Volunteer Fire Department.

The occupants, Shirley Brown and J.D. Ealey, had just moved into the house Thursday night, Williamson said.

It was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

"Initially, we thought somebody was in there, but eventually we found out they went to get breakfast at Fat Boyz (restaurant), so that was fortunate," Williamson said.

There was a fire burning in the fireplace when Brown and Ealey went out, Williamson said.

"The only heat source they had was the fireplace. That was the only thing that was going when they went to get breakfast," he said.

Brown and Ealey were rental tenants. Williamson said the house owner, Jay W. Church, purchased the property three months ago and did not have any insurance.

Icy winds helped fan the flames that consumed the house.

"We had to do an exterior attack to put it out," Williamson said.

Assisting Mosheim were volunteer firefighters from Midway and the Town of Mosheim.

The Greene County chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting Brown and Ealey, Williamson said.

Also on scene were Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services and a Greeneville Light & Power System crew.

Mosheim firefighters remained at the fire scene this morning, mopping up hot spots and doing further investigation into the cause of the fire.

"It is a total loss," Williamson said.

Neighbors told Williamson the house was about 100 years old.