OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. -- An off-duty firefighter is being credited with preventing damage from escalating at a burning Old Saybrook vacation cottage.

The fire broke out at an Uncas Drive vacation cottage Saturday while the family renting the home was at the beach.

Kristin DeCapua lives across the street from the burning cottage. She said her husband, William, is a volunteer firefighter for the town and he radioed dispatch to report smoke at the cottage before throwing on his gear.

“We just heard a smoke detector go off, very faint,” Kristin DeCapua said. “We all came outside to see, figure out what it was, and we saw smoke across the street over there.”

Fire officials said a light in one of the bedroom closets appears to have sparked the fire.

The fire marshal said after some thorough cleaning of the smoke and heat damage, the renting family can continue to stay at the cottage.

“If this was in the middle of the night, it would have been much more damage, probably would have been fire through the roof,” said William DeCapua. “We were in the right place at the right time.”