Two people and one firefighter were taken to the hospital after a fire broke out at a home in Copiague early Thursday morning.

"The side of the house by the garage was engulfed and then it looked like it was going to catch the fence on fire which it did and the other house I was worried about also," neighbor Erik Carlson said.

The fire was brought under control within a few hours, but the home was a total loss. An excavator demolished the home around 7:30 a.m.

Suffolk County fire officials confirm they received the call for a fire at 190 26th St. around 2:45 a.m. Seven fire departments responded.

According to officials, a male resident jumped from a second-floor window and was taken to the hospital for injuries related to the jump. A female escaped through a window and suffered smoke inhalation.

One Copiague firefighter was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated for nonlife-threatening injuries and is expected to be OK.

"I was worried about my house and everybody around here you know, for the same thing happening right now in California," neighbor Jesus Rodriguez said. "It's very windy right now."

Well-below-freezing temperatures and gusty winds helped the fire spread and made it more difficult for first responders to control. Embers from the fire were blown onto the front lawn of an adjacent property which sparked a brief brush fire that firefighters quickly got under control.

"The frigid temperatures, the ice and the wind were blowing pretty good, so that led to the fire being a lot more intense than normal," Copiague Fire Chief Dan Broyles said.

Sources and neighbors said the homeowners were known to foster cats from several shelters on Long Island. Fire officials said there were more than two dozen cats in the home at the time of the fire they were unable to rescue any.

It's unclear if any of the animals got out on their own.

Suffolk County Police Arson Section detectives are investigating the fire. The cause of the fire has not been determined.