A Holderness woman said she'll be baking cookies for the firefighters she credits with saving her home early Sunday morning.

Judith Ruhm of Sargent Hill Road lives in a house built in 1775. She said she woke Sunday morning and was getting ready to go to church when she realized the inside of the house was smoky.

She said she went outside and didn't see smoke coming from the chimney to her beehive stove that she burns, so she went back inside and opened the wooden door next to the chimney and saw flames.

She said she called 9-1-1 and within minutes Holderness Fire Capt. Randy Eastman was there.

Fire Chief Eleanor Mardin said Eastman went into the house, saw the fire in the partition had begun to spread and called for a first alarm. By that time the smoke detectors were sounding.

She said Eastman grabbed two of her fire extinguishers and trained them of the flames, pretty much extinguishing them.

By then Ruhm said firefighters from four surrounding towns were in her driveway and took over.

"They made sure the fire hadn't spread," Ruhm said. "They were wonderful."

Mardin said Ruhm had done all of the right things. She had working fire extinguishers, working smoke and CO detectors, and she notified emergency and got out of the house when she realized there was a fire.

She said it appears some critter — perhaps a mouse or squirrel — had built a nest in the partition in the wall next to the first floor chimney.

"I think that's what caught fire," Mardin said.

Ruhm thinks her home is the second-oldest surviving dwelling in Holderness and Mardin said the age of the house and the balloon-type construction could have meant that the fire court have turned catastrophic if Ruhm had not been home, or as well prepared as she was.

"Fires in these homes can spread very quickly," said Mardin.

While Ruhm said there is some smoke and water damage to the one room where the stove is, she can still stay in the home and the insurance company agent will be there this morning.

"My cats are safe and I'm safe," she said saying again how great the fire department and especially Eastman was.

Mardin said firefighters from Center Harbor, Ashland and Meredith helped at the fire and Plymouth covered the Holderness station.