The fire also put Raspberry Lane Preschool out of a home for its fall classes. Director Red Asselin had rented a unit in the building owned by Annie Whitney and Dave Webster. The preschool was preparing to move in time to open its doors Sept. 8. Fall classes have been postponed, Asselin said.

Homer Volunteer Fire Department firefighters got the page for the fire about 2:20 a.m., said HVFD Chief Bob Painter. Thirteen firefighters in five units responded to the building on lower East Hill Road, with assistance from Kachemak Emergency Services and Anchor Point firefighters.

Diane Ditton, a tenant in the downstairs unit, said she found out about the fire when an upstairs resident, Jeremy Youngblood, knocked on her door.

"I got my shoes, socks and a coat on," Ditton said. "My cell phone and my keys -- that was it."

Painter said investigators believe an electrical short started the fire in the wall of an addition to the main building. The fire spread in the joint between the wall and up into the ceiling and attic. The fire caused extensive damage to the ceiling and roof of the upper level and smoke and water damage to the lower levels. It took about five hours to fully extinguish the fire, with the last units returning to the fire hall at about 9 a.m.

The American Red Cross provided housing vouchers to the displaced residents, Ditton said. Ditton said she's staying with her parents in town. An account under the name "East Hill House Fire Fund" has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank to provide assistance for the displaced tenants, said Susannah Webster, Whitney and Webster's daughter. The building is insured, she said.

Asselin is in the process of locating an alternate preschool site for youngsters 3 to 5 years old, with hopes of being ready to open by the end of September.

"Even though I don't know where, Raspberry Lane will exist in some form this year," Asselin said.

Ditton doesn't know how much can be salvaged from her apartment or the other units.

"We would have had time to grab a few more things, but no one wanted to go back inside," she said. "We were out and we just wanted to stay out."

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong.@homernews.com.