East Liverpool fire officials said a family came home after a camping trip to find their house ablaze Sunday. This is the 12^th house fire the department has handled since July 1, and firefighters are looking to increase their manpower, officials said.

Firefighter were called out to 865 Lisbon St. at 2:19 a.m., officials said.

"When they pulled up on the scene they encountered heavy smoke," said Assistant Fire Chief Eric Croxall. "The brunt of the fire, most of the fire was in the first floor right around the couch."

There wasn't too much damage on the outside, though the house is ruled a total loss with about $20,000 in damage, Croxall said. The blaze started in the living room then moved up to the attic, fire officials said.

Neighbors reacted to the news of this most recent fire.

"It's been a pretty dry season, so everything's ready to go up like a match," said Jamie Barker, who lives on Lisbon Street. "I'm sure our fire department's doing everything they can. With the resources they have, they need all the help they can get."

Luckily, the family that lived there was away on a camping trip at the time of the fire, Croxall said. A family member who lives nearby saw the fire, Barker said.

"Jessica went and came down and talked to us and said that perhaps it was an electrical fire," said Barker. "(She) said she had seen an orange flash in the window and the house lit up, said her parents (weren't) home."

Some of the past month's house fires were ruled arson, with one person, Joseph Davis, Jr., already behind bars on arson charges. Currently, the fire department is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to more arrests.

To help out, their department is applying for a federal grant for more manpower, Croxall said. If approved, it would add six more firefighters to the department, Croxall said. The round of fires is taking a toll on firefighters.

"We're tired, we're very tired. The guys are beat up but we're doing the best we can with what we have."

All of the fires, including Sunday's Lisbon Street fire, are still under investigation.