A De Soto-area man was hospitalized Monday (Nov. 19), suffering from smoke inhalation, five days after his home in the 5900 block of Big River Heights Road was damaged by a fire. The fire happened Nov. 14, said Tom Fitzgerald, assistant chief of the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District.
The man and two of his nephews live in the home, but one of the nephews was not there when the fire started, Fitzgerald said.
He said the man and the one nephew who was home were asleep when smoke alarms in the house began to sound, and both of them managed to escape.
The district got a call about the fire at 11:26 p.m., and when firefighters arrived at 11:33 p.m., both the man and the boy were safely outside the burning building Fitzgerald said.
“Fire was visible from the front of the home on the lower level and there was heavy smoke,” he said.
Firefighters immediately began to extinguish the fire.
“We attacked the fire and went in and searched the inside of the building to make sure no one else was in there,” Fitzgerald said.
Firefighters were able to rescue a dog and one of two cats in the house. The other cat was able to escape the home on its own, Fitzgerald said.
Although the man who lived at the house appeared to be suffering from smoke inhalation, he did not want to be transported to the hospital. However, family members took him to the hospital the next morning when he began to feel worse, Fitzgerald said.
The fire began in or near the heating and cooling unit on a porch that had been turned into a four-season room, and most of the fire damage was contained to that area. However, there was smoke damage to the rest of the house, he said
“There was heavy smoke and soot throughout the entire home,” Fitzgerald said.
He said the two-story farmhouse was probably 100 years old.
“It is a big, beautiful home,” Fitzgerald said.
He said companies that perform smoke and water restoration should be able to clean up the home.
The man and his nephews are expected to stay with family members who live nearby until repairs are made, Fitzgerald said.
The heating and air-conditioning unit that might have played a part in the fire’s ignition was the type of unit that is found in hotel rooms, Fitzgerald said.
“It’s designed to heat specific rooms,” he said.
The De Soto Rural Fire marshal inspected the area where the fire started, but the full report is not yet in, Fitzgerald said Monday.
Crews were on the scene for about two hours, he said.
“We had the fire under control pretty fast but we were out there until 1:30 a.m.
The De Soto Fire Department, the Hillsboro and Potosi fire protection districts, and the Valle Ambulance District assisted with the call.