A malfunctioning furnace resulted in heavy smoke and soot damage early Friday morning to a Sprucewold log cabin.

The Boothbay Harbor Fire Department responded to a call around 2 a.m. for an apparent fire. The firefighters arrived at the residence on 104 Sunset Road, which had heavy black smoke coming out of the eaves. Boothbay Harbor Chief Nick Upham called for the Boothbay and Southport fire departments to assist in what appeared to be a house fire.

Upon further inspection, firefighters discovered it wasn’t a fire, but rather a malfunctioning furnace. According to Upham, the furnace began blowing smoke and soot into the house instead of through the exhaust.

“It took a while to tell it wasn’t a fire because of all the black smoke, and it was so dark,” Upham said. “It took us about 25 minutes to realize it was the furnace, and not a fire.”

Firefighters opened up the building and vented it before blowing the smoke out of it. Firefighters later turned off the furnace. No one was at the home, and no one was reported injured. It was owned by the late Marylouise Cowan. Upham believed the property is now owned by a family trust.

Upham said the cabin was heavily damaged by smoke and soot.

“It is one heck of a mess in there. They are going to have a tough time cleaning it up,” he said.