MOULTRIE — A hamburger lunch turned destructive as a fire spread through a house on East Bethel Avenue Friday afternoon.

Members of the Westside, Northside, Funston and Southside volunteer fire departments responded to the fire at a house on East Bethel Avenue about 12:15 p.m. Friday. When firefighters arrived, there was smoke coming from the attic area, and fire was found inside the attic. Everyone who had been inside the house had safely escaped, and no one complained of any injuries.

One of the house’s occupants was cooking hamburgers in the kitchen and had left them unattended for about 30 minutes. When he returned to them, the kitchen had ignited, and fire had spread to the attic from the cabinets. The fire was safely extinguished, but there was moderate to heavy fire damage to the kitchen and attic.

In addition to the volunteer firefighters, the Red Cross of Colquitt County was on hand to provide assistance to the family and to the firefighters.