CORINNA -- A fire destroyed an old house on Newport Road Tuesday night, leaving the tenants homeless.

The blaze was first reported as a chimney fire shortly after 6 p.m. and had been doused by about 11 p.m., said Corinna Fire Chief Leslie Bolstridge.

"By the time we arrived, it had bridged out to two sides of the house," he said. "It had a metal roof, so it held all the heat in the house and we couldn't get it out."

The fire began at a woodstove in the house, Bolstridge said.

Between 50 and 60 firefighters responded from Corinna, Newport, St. Albans and Dexter, Bolstridge said.