NORTHFIELD — Two people were injured, two dogs were killed and a home on Holly Avenue was destroyed Saturday night in a blaze that remains under investigation.

Firefighters and first responders were called to 15 Holly Ave. at 10:20 p.m. Saturday night for a reported structure fire and found “heavy fire” in the back of the house, according to Northfield Fire Chief Floyd “Skip” Dunnell III.

Two residents who were in the home at the time of the fire were transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center for smoke inhalation and Dunnell said the house appears to be a total loss. Firefighters were able to rescue a cat from the house.

“The front part of it is still structurally sound, but I would say it’s a total loss,” Dunnell said Monday morning. “There was so much damage in the rear that the state fire marshal and I are still working on finding the exact cause.”

Along with battling the blaze in the home, Dunnell said the continued dry conditions in the region threatened properties and homes in the neighborhood, as a brush fire caused by the house fire began to spread.

“There’s tiers of homes and camps in that section of town, so the fire spreading was a concern, as well as the embers coming from it because of the dry conditions,” Dunnell said. “We immediately made an aggressive attack to knock down the bulk of the fire.”

Mutual aid, Dunnell said, was key to preventing the spread of the fire, as some equipment was sent to the next street to protect those homes. In total, eight mutual aid departments helped battle the fire. The Bernardston, Erving, Gill, Greenfield, South Deerfield and Warwick departments responded, as well as the Hinsdale and Winchester departments from New Hampshire.

The two occupants of the house are staying with friends and Dunnell said the Red Cross has been working with them.

“It’s still under investigation,” Dunnell said. “Unfortunately, the occupants basically escaped with just the clothes on their back.”

Department of Fire Services spokesperson Jake Wark confirmed the fire is under investigation by the Northfield Fire Department and State Police fire investigators. At this point, he said, the potential factors investigators are looking at are “all accidental.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.