A stove burner that had been left on was the cause of an early morning fire on Monday at a two-family home on Fisher Road in Edgartown. The fire claimed the life of one pet and left two young families temporarily without a home.

Volunteer firefighters responded at 6:23 a.m. to the fire in the kitchen of the back apartment in the duplex owned by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority. The occupants of the apartment had left for work and were not in the building at the time of the fire. A dog that was in the apartment died in the blaze, assistant fire chief Scott Ellis said. The kitchen was completely destroyed. Firefighters were on the scene until just after 9 a.m. The occupants of the adjacent apartment were at home at the time, but were unharmed.

Mr. Ellis said firefighters returned to the scene later to investigate the cause and determined that it was a stove burner.

Both families have been relocated to temporary housing while the building is repaired. Regional housing authority executive director David Vigneault said the authority pays for the temporary housing, but the families lost most of their personal belongings to smoke and water damage. An account has been set up at the Edgartown National Bank to assist the families. Checks, made payable to the DCRHA Fisher Road Fire Fund, may be sent to the Edgartown National Bank, P.O. Box 96,Edgartown, MA 02539.

Meanwhile Mr. Ellis also issued a seasonal reminder to all Island residents: just as you remember to turn the clocks back for the end of Daylight Saving Time, remember to change the batteries in home smoke detectors, he said.