PELHAM — From the outside, the new home hardly looks like fire struck on Monday night.

But lots of smoke and fire damage is visible inside the Nashua Road house, including a mammoth hole, about 20 feet square, in the first-floor dining area.

"You could sink a car in it," Pelham fire Chief Jim Midgley said.

Fire investigators think a propane heater may have caused the hole and the blaze. The home, near the intersection of Brookview Drive, was almost ready for occupancy.

Amy and Victor Rodriguez had planned to move in by the end of the month, said Nina Bisson, Amy's mother. Now there is no telling when the house will be ready.

Midgley said crews extinguished the fire quickly, but had to do extensive cutting and chopping to chase down hot spots in the framing of the floor.

Walls throughout the house are blackened and the windows melted and cracked, Midgley said.

The fire was spotted about 11:35 p.m. Monday by two Pelham police officers, Sgt. Glen Chase and Patrolman Brian Barbato. They were driving by and reported it to their dispatcher.

Firefighters converged on the scene and the blaze went to two alarms. Fire departments from Windham, Londonderry, Hudson, Salem, Methuen and Dracut helped Pelham.

Fire trucks drew the attention of neighbor Kurt Fisher, who then saw smoke pouring from the roof. "Out of any nook and cranny," he said.

Firefighters extinguished the fire quickly and quietly, he said.

Bisson said painters had been in the house earlier in the day, and had turned off its two propane heaters. Bisson and her daughter went over to the house Monday night and turned the heaters on, at a low setting, to warm the house for the next day when hardwood floors were scheduled to be installed, she said.

Midgley said the department is leaning toward the propane unit as the fire's accidental cause. This assessment based on a conversation with Bisson, he said.

He reminded people who use portable heaters that they need to be in a well ventilated area and attended.

The Rodriguez home sits on more than 10 acres, according to neighbor Frank Maglio of 61 Nashua Road, a previous owner of the property.

Maglio is Bisson's father and Amy Rodriguez's grandfather.

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