A Tivoli Riverfront home in South Bryan was destroyed by a fire Monday afternoon, and firefighters and investigators were still on the scene Tuesday morning keeping flare-ups at bay.

“We are still trying to determine how it actually started,” Bryan County Emergency Services Chief Freddy Howell said from the site of the two-story home on Sayles Lane off Sweet Hill Road. “But we’re trying to get the smoke and small flames that keep popping up under control before we can even get in there (to investigate).”

Until then, he said any ideas on the cause of the blaze would be speculation, though there wasn’t anything suspicious at play.

Howell said Bryan County and Richmond Hill firefighters arrived at the scene around 4:30 p.m. Monday to find the house up in flames.

“When the first units pulled up, it was fully engulfed — it was nothing but a fire ball,” he said.

Firefighters immediately turned their attention to the adjacent home that was only about 50 feet away from the burning structure.

“When we saw that the house was a total loss we focused our efforts on saving the house next door,” he said. “And it worked. That house was not damaged at all.”

Fire crews were back and forth at the scene overnight battling flare-ups, the chief said.

“And we came back out at 5:30 this morning because neighbors were reporting hearing small explosions, which turned out to be aerosol cans,” Howell said.

He said there were no injuries, though he heard from neighbors that there may have been pets in the home.