WOODSTOCK — A 25-year-old man escaped a house fire in Woodstock on Wednesday morning with help from a neighbor, according to local fire officials.

When firefighters arrived around 1 a.m. at the home in the 900 block of Victoria Landing Drive, they reportedly saw the house 80 percent engulfed in flames with the roof beginning to collapse, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services spokesman Tim Cavender said.

“Neighbors indicated that they heard an explosion prior to the fire which appeared to have started in the back of the house,” Cavender said.

Cavender said Ryan Burt, who lives across the street, retrieved his ladder and helped the 25-year-old resident escape the burning home through a window above the garage.

The man, who officials have not identified, had a deep gash in his inner thigh and was also experiencing some smoke inhalation, Cavender said. He was taken to WellStar Kennestone Hospital for evaluations

Cavender said both lanes of Victoria Landing Drive were blocked until the clean-up operation was completed. No additional injuries were reported and the man was the only occupant of the home, Cavender said.

Cavender said the cause of the fire, which gutted the home, remains under investigation.