A house fire on Sunday morning, Feb. 25, displaced a family of three, according to Crystal City Fire Chief Tony Bova.
Bova said his department received a call at approximately 5:20 a.m. about the blaze at a house on Crystal Meadow Drive off of Missouri Avenue.
He said the three residents – a mother, father and child – exited the house safely, and no injuries were reported.
The mother and father, Cindy and Larry Rice, own The Brick Bistro & Brew in Festus.
“It’s a split-level house,” Bova said. “The fire went through the roof of the house on the kitchen side. We had it out in about 20 minutes. I would say at least half of the house will need to be repaired.”
Bova said the family needs to find other housing until repairs are made.
Firefighters rescued a pet from the home.
“There was a cat,” he said. “We got it out alive.”
Larry Rice said his family is grateful for the emergency responders' work.
“We all got out safely,” he said. “My wife, Cindy, and my son, Joe, and I. The firemen and policemen were nothing short of amazing. We can’t thank them enough. Our cat, Pickles, was missing and after about an hour, one of the firemen found her under a bed in a spare bedroom, just scared and full of soot.”
Bova said firefighters remained on the scene for approximately an hour and 30 minutes.
He said no cause has been determined, but the fire is “not suspicious.”
The Festus and Herculaneum fire departments and the Hematite and Jefferson R-7, Hematite, Antonia, Mapaville and Dunklin fire protection districts helped with the call, and Joachim-Plattin Ambulance also responded.