Teams from five different fire stations were called to the blaze on Savile Drive, off Savile Park Road, on Saturday afternoon.
"It was huge," said one neighbour. "The firefighters were here for five or six hours putting it out."
She was alerted by her daughter, who saw a large plume of smoke coming from the house, and called the fire service.
She said another neighbour tried to get inside to check nobody was home but could not get in.
When the first crews arrived, she said they quickly established that the people who live at the house were out at the time.
"It was very windy that day and I was worried the flames might spread," she added.
As our photo shows, the fire caused severe damage to the roof of the house.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Fire Service said: "Following a call at 1.44pm on April 23, crews from Cleckheaton, Morley, Skelmanthorpe, an aerial from Leeds and support from Fairweather Green attended a fire in a building on Savile Drive, Halifax."