ST. CATHARINES - Two people are in hospital after an early morning blaze St. Catharines fire officials are calling suspicious.

The fire broke out at a Maple St. home in St. Catharines just after 5 a.m. The blaze started on the two-storey home's front porch and spread to the house's interior.

The home's two occupants were awoken by smoke alarms and one managed to escape. The other could not make his way through smoke in the house and climbed to the roof where he was rescued by firefighters.

The Ontario Fire Marshal's office has been called in to investigate.

It took firefighters more than an hour to get the blaze under control because of what officials are calling “excessive amounts of combustible materials” in the house.

Damage to the home is estimated at $250,000. A neighbouring house sustained $20,000 in damages.