A fire broke out at 132 1/2 E. Prospect Ave. yesterday morning, severely damaging portions of the house. The resident of the home escaped unharmed after a neighbor reported the fire at 8:52 a.m. to the State College Police Department. Officer Robert Keen entered the burning house, woke the resident and brought him to safety.

The Centre Region Fire Marshall's office determined the fire to be accidental. A heat lamp attached to the house appears to be the cause of the fire.

The resident's collection of exotic birds was rescued from the burning building. All of the birds emerged from the house alive, but it is unclear whether any of them sustained injuries. The birds were kept in a glass porch outside of the living quarters of the house, Jim Brown, assistant chief of the Alpha Fire Company said.

"We rounded up all of the birds that we could find," said Brown. "We counted almost 15 total. We found all sorts of birds including peacocks and pigeons."