A pre-dawn house fire Tuesday in West Columbia's Hickory Ridge village heavily damaged a home, but the sleeping resident escaped unharmed, Howard County fire officials said.

The one-alarm blaze was reported about 4:20 a.m. at a home in the 6000 block of Harmel Drive, off Cedar Lane, and was under control by 5:06 a.m., according to fire spokeswoman Jacqueline Cutler, who said preliminary estimates put damages at $112,000.

The home was "significantly" damaged and uninhabitable, she said, but the one person inside at the time escaped. The Red Cross was helping the resident find temporary shelter.

larry.carson@baltsun.com