CENTER TWP — Embers from a wood stove apparently ignited a fire this morning that damaged a makeshift shed and destroyed a wood pile at a house on McCandless Road, authorities said.

The fire started shortly before 6 a.m. at the outdoor stove next to the wooden lean-to style shed in the 5300 block of McCandless Road. No one was injured.

“The stove was operating and maybe an ember from the stove or the flue pipe came out and caught the wood pile on fire,” said Chief Nathan Wulff of the Unionville Volunteer Fire Department.

The stove heats the house, surrounded by woods, that is about 100 feet away.

The fire quickly spread to the 12-foot-by-12-foot shed that Wulff described as “four posts going up and a roof.”

Firefighters from Unionville and Butler Township Fire District 3 departments battled the blaze and were able to save the shed.

“The fire was out within minutes,” Wulff said. “We used about 750 gallons of water.”

A damage estimate was not available. Authorities did not identify the homeowner, who they described only as a middle-aged man.

Fire crews were back at their stations shortly after 7 a.m.