TOWN OF WATERFORD - Some small livestock perished, but larger animals escaped a Monday night fire that destroyed a barn at 28058 North Lake Drive near the Waterford/Norway town line.

The property is located about a mile east of Highway 164 and the Tichigan area of the Town of Waterford.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 5:25 p.m. and found the structure engulfed in flames. A neighbor alerted the Paul Ruszkiewicz family about the blaze. The family had been in their home's basement at the time they were alerted, said Tichigan Fire Chief Garrett Forkner. The chief said the cause of the fire had not been determined as of Monday night.

Forkner said animals kept in the barn included pigs and rabbits.

Tichigan fire crews were assisted by units and personnel from Wind Lake, Waterford and Rochester. The last crews left the scene at approximately 7 p.m.