CLAREMONT — A late night fire destroyed a single-family home on Roberts Hill Road, displacing two residents, according to the city fire department.

Claremont firefighters responded to a house fire just after 11 p.m. on Saturday.

The roof of the single-story home at 98 Roberts Hill Road, a rural residential lane located off Washington Street, was already engulfed in flames when personnel arrived, Deputy Chief Brian Rapp said in a news release.

The couple who owned the home successfully evacuated without injury, the release said. One cat perished, while another was rescued, the statement added.

Claremont firefighters, with assistance from the Ascutney and Newport fire departments, had the blaze under control around midnight.

Claremont Fire Chief Jim Chamberlain described the house as “a total loss” in an interview on Monday. In addition to structural damage from the fire, there was smoke and water damage throughout, the news release said.

“Improper disposal of smoking material” ignited a plastic planter outside the house, and the fire spread to the exterior siding and then through the soffit into the attic, the release stated.