DES MOINES, Iowa — A house fire Friday evening temporarily closed one of the most important stretches of road in north Des Moines, but firefighters say no one was hurt in the fire.

The fire erupted in a home on the 1700 block of Forest Avenue, across the street from King Elementary School and down the street from Evelyn Davis Park and the Forest Avenue Library.

Des Moines firefighters responded to the scene at about 7 p.m. as they were returning from a cancelled assignment in the Merle Hay neighborhood. Authorities closed Forest Avenue between 16th Street and 19th Street as firefighters put out the flames.

The fire was contained to the second-story bedroom, but the District Fire Chief on scene believes it could have spread much further if they were not in the right place at the right time.

The house was empty when the fire occurred, according to the District Fire Chief.

A group of children returning home from Evelyn Davis Park saw the flames before the firefighters arrives. They told WHO 13 they attempted to knock on the door and rescue anyone who may have been inside.

“I knocked on the door and there was nobody, then I tried to call for someone and nobody was there,” said Jal Gatwas, one of the children who saw the fire. “I could open the door a little bit, but I didn’t want to trespass. We went back out and the smoke started turning yellow. Some guy pulled in and called the cops. They came and helped everything after that.”

The Des Moines Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.