SOUTH FORSYTH -- A south Forsyth homeowner was displaced this weekend after a large fire destroyed his home in an early morning blaze that took firefighters nearly nine hours to contain.

The residence, located at 2770 Hansard Road, was “completely involved” in flames when firefighters arrived about 12:48 a.m. Dec. 31, Forsyth County Fire Department Division Chief Jason Shivers said. Crews worked until about 9:40 a.m.

“That’s longer than most residential fires [last] year. It was a significant fire,” he said. “It was a fairly remote location, located just over a half-mile back from nearest paved road,” he said. “It [also] had no positive water supply, meaning there were no fire hydrants nearby because it was on a private road.”

The only resident — a male — and his girlfriend found the house ablaze, Shivers said.

Neither person was hurt, but three motorcycles and one pickup truck were damaged and the home was deemed a total loss.

A fish tank was also lost in the fire.

Three tanker trucks, which hold 3,000 gallons of water each, were used on a rotating basis throughout the night to fight the fire.

Three engines, a ladder truck, a brush truck, two battalion chiefs and an ambulance also responded. In total, about 25 personnel responded.

“The fire is still under investigation, but there’s nothing indicating it’s suspicious,” Shivers said. “The exact cause may never be determined though because there’s virtually nothing left.”