All four Berlin volunteer fire departments responded to an early morning fire at 453 Wethersfield Road and were able to quickly put out the fire, which started on the second floor.
Fire officials think a lit candle was knocked over by a dog and ignited a pillow or mattress and caught the second floor on fire.
The three residents were not able to re-enter the home and had to find other accomodations.
"I'm pretty sure they had somewhere else to go, a relative's house I think," said Assistant Fire Marshal Matt Odishoo. "The Red Cross came in and would have put them up on a hotel if needed but gave them money to take care of things.
"They were able to go back in once we had the fire extinguished so they could get their medications and personal affects. There will have to be some substantial work done to the upstairs. We had to take some things down and also look to make sure the fire didn't go into the attic."
Odishoo said the reason the family could not go back in was there was structural damage on the second floor and water and smoke damage throughout the house. Some windows were also taken out of the upstairs to vent the house.
