An exterior house generator sparked a blaze that damaged three homes in Slaughter Beach Wednesday, the State Fire Marshal’s Office said.

There were no reported injuries and the fire damage was estimated at $800,000, Delaware Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio said.

The fire, which was reported about 2:30 p.m. has been ruled accidental.

A resident of one of the damaged homes sat in a chair watching as his, and his neighbors’ houses, went up in smoke Wednesday afternoon.

The man, who declined to give his name, said he’d dozed off while watching TV. When he woke up, there was smoke in the room and he left the home he’d been living in since the mid-1990s.