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CORNELIUS – Investigators say candles sparked the fire that destroyed a home on Brinkley Street in Cornelius early Sunday.

Firefighters say the homeowner was asleep on the couch when the candles caught nearby curtains on fire. A neighbor said she tried to put the fire out herself with a fire extinguisher.

"She went to use her first alert and it wouldn't work. She said she got a pillow. Then she just called 911 on her cell, and they said, 'Get out.' And she said, 'Well it's not that big I can put it out,' and they said 'Get out, get out, get out,'” said neighbor John Hoffmann.

The woman's two young children, aged three and five, were not home when the fire started. The American Red cross is helping the family with immediate needs such as food, clothes and a temporary place to stay.