GUILDERLAND — Firefighters were unable to save the home at 3770 Western Turnpike in an early-morning fire on Monday, but the man who was the only resident at home at the time was able to escape, together with his dog.

The 9-1-1 call that came in at 2:44 a.m. was from the resident, said Altamont Fire Chief Paul Miller. The man told the dispatcher that he had heard a pop and awakened to find his living room on fire; he said he was getting a bucket to put it out. The man had been sleeping in the living room when the fire started, said Miller.

The man was not taken to the hospital. Animal-control officers took the dog temporarily, Miller said.

Investigators think they know, but are not yet releasing, the cause of the fire, according to Miller. It was not a Christmas tree, he said; the tree was out of the house.

Miller described the home as a “very, very old farmhouse” with an addition, also old, on the back. The Guilderland assessor’s office said this week that the home was built in 1880.

The home, with a balloon-frame construction and wood siding, was about 80 percent involved when firefighters arrived, within 10 minutes of the 9-1-1 call, Miller said. They decided to do an exterior attack, because the structure was too heavily involved to enter safely.

The nearest hydrants were half a mile or more away, so Miller knew he would have to call for a lot of water. He said he believes he had six tankers on the scene. The tankers shuttled water to a portable pond set up on Western Turnpike that can hold 3,000 or 4,000 gallons; hoses then carried the water to the house set 800 feet back from the road.

Challenges for firefighters included the lack of water, the long driveway, and the icy conditions, Miller said, but no one was hurt.

The fire was controlled within an hour, but the scene was not officially cleared until about 4 p.m., Miller said. He had sent the engines home, he said, to get cleaned up and put on new hoses, knowing they would need to return. Investigators then went inside what was left of the structure, before the engines were called back to put out some additional hot spots.

Miller listed the fire companies that responded as Altamont, Guilderland Center, Guilderland, Fort Hunter, Pine Grove, South Schenectady, Plotterkill, Duanesburg, North Bethlehem, Knox, and Westmere. Voorheesville was on standby.