ALTON – A couple was homeless Sunday after a fire destroyed the house they were renting on the Tannery Road.

Jason Mathieu and his fiancee were staying at a Bangor hotel after the Saturday afternoon fire, according to Alton Fire Chief Dave Webb.

When firefighters arrived about 3 p.m. the attached garage was engulfed in flames, said Webb, who described the building as an “older-style farmhouse” that had been renovated

Firefighters were impeded by high winds that rapidly helped spread the fire and drew it into the “little nooks and crannies and hidden crawl spaces,” according to Webb.

“We made a defensive attack to keep the fire from entering the main part of the house and we stopped it before it got into the bedroom area,” said Webb.

Although the main portion of the house is still standing, smoke and water damage has made the place unlivable, he said.

The house is owned by Isabelle Silver of Boylston, Mass., he said.

Alton firefighters as well as those from Hudson, LaGrange, Bradford and Glenburn “made an outstanding effort,” said Webb.

The fire is still under investigation, according to Webb.