POCATELLO — A fire gutted a house in a residential neighborhood near downtown Pocatello on Saturday afternoon, leaving two pets dead.

The blaze at the two-story home in the 600 block of North Hayes Avenue was reported around 1:30 p.m. by the people who resided there, authorities said.

Multiple individuals including an elderly man were in the house when the fire ignited and everyone was able to escape without injury. However, a dog and cat died in the fire, the Pocatello Fire Department reported.

Firefighters spent more than an hour battling the fire, keeping the flames from spreading to adjacent homes. But they were unable to save the house where the fire started from suffering heavy damage.

Firefighters said they don't think the home is salvageable. 

Pocatello police temporarily shut down North Hayes and a stretch of West Bridger Street in the area of the fire as firefighters turned more and more hoses on the flames and the neighborhood filled with smoke.

The elderly man who lived in the home said the residence was insured. 

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The fire gutted most of the home, especially the second floor, and caused much of the roof to collapse.

The blaze attracted several onlookers from the neighborhood on Saturday afternoon, many of whom made sure the elderly man was OK as he watched the firefighting effort while sitting in a chair on the sidewalk across the street from his burning home.