A fire in the wiring of a house required two visits from firefighters on July 26, Crystal City Fire Chief Tony Bova reported.
The department responded to the first call shortly before 2 p.m. for smoke at a house at the intersection of Sunridge Trail and Lucas Drive, Bova said.
“It ended up being electrical,” he said. “A tree branch fell on a line and caused a short in the electrical panel. It burned in the basement at the electrical box. We were there 45 minutes to an hour.
“A couple hours later we got called again. We went back and there was more smoke and fire. It was right at 4:58 p.m. that we got the call. The fire had smoldered further down in the wall. It was smoldering further down than we knew (during the first response). Ameren shut off electricity. We tore some drywall down (to locate the fire.)”
He said firefighters contacted Ameren Missouri during the responses to shut off electricity in the house and put out the fire after the power was turned off.
He said firefighters remained at the house another 1 ½ hours.
The residents, a young couple and their child, as well as some pets, got out safely, Bova said, and no injuries were reported.
Bova said it was fortunate that the fire was noticed before it could spread.
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said.
He said the house, particularly the wiring, requires repairs before the family can move back into it.
“They were going to stay with the young man’s parents,” he said.
The Festus and Herculaneum fire departments and the Dunklin, Mapaville, Hematite, Jefferson R-7 and Antonia fire protection districts helped with the call and the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District also responded.
Bova said the large number of firefighting agencies summoned for assistance was due to the extreme temperatures of the day.
“With the heat, we got extra help,” he said. “You need more help to give people breaks from the heat.”