A fire destroyed the apartment of a single mother and her four children early Tuesday in Milford, according to authorities.

Another tenant in the eight-unit apartment building on Section Street smelled smoke and reported the fire shortly after midnight, Milford Fire Chief Todd Haines said.

Firefighters entered the building and found flames in a bedroom in the first-floor apartment that belonged to the mother and her children. No one was home at the time, Haines said.

The chief said the blaze was contained to the family’s apartment and extinguished. The contents of the home were a total loss, and the family was displaced, he said.

The American Red Cross of Kosciusko County said it helped the family with basic needs such as food and clothing.

Haines said the cause of the fire has not been determined, but he believes it was accidental.