A fire at a house in the 700 block of Huber Street in Festus displaced a family and killed a family pet Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 1), interim Festus Fire Chief Kevin Cremer said.
No one was home at the time of the fire, but the family’s dog died in the fire and a cat was missing.
At about 1:30 p.m., a passerby smelled smoke in the area, discovered the fire and reported it to 911 Dispatch, Cremer said.
He believes, however, the fire started much earlier in the day.
“I think it smoldered for a long time before anyone actually noticed it,” Cremer said.
Once firefighters were on the scene, they had the fire under control in about 20 minutes, he said.
The fire started in the kitchen and that room sustained fire damage. Smoke damaged the rest of the house, and the building is uninhabitable, Cremer said.
He said he believed the residents are staying with family.
Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour and a half.
“The cause of the fire is undetermined, but it’s not suspicious,” Cremer said.
He said today (Nov. 4) that he was waiting for a report from the Festus Police Department, which investigates all the Festus fires.
Firefighters from the Crystal City and Herculaneum fire departments and the Dunklin Fire Protection District assisted the Festus Department on the scene and the Hematite Fire Protection District moved up to cover Festus, Cremer said.