A home at 110 South Grand Ave. in De Soto was damaged Christmas Day (Dec. 25) by a fire that started in the attic, Capt. Mike Zebas of the De Soto City Fire Department said.
The family, which included two teenagers, was home when the fire started and safely got out of the house, Zebas said.
At 11:17 a.m. Monday, after the family discovered the fire, they called 911. When firefighters arrived, they saw “a small single-story frame home with light smoke coming from the attic,” he said.
The family was standing outside the house with police when firefighters arrived, Zebas said.
Crews began work right away from the outside of the home trying to locate the fire. They used a thermal camera to look for fire and after they moved inside the building, finally found hot spots above the ceiling in the kitchen and the laundry room, he said.
Firefighters took down the ceiling in both areas, Zebas said.
“We found burned wires and rafters in the attic,” he said.
They then, extinguished the fire. Zebas said firefighters were on the scene until 12:47 p.m.
“The fire didn’t take that long to put out. It just took quite awhile to find it,” he said.
The fire was determined to be electrical, Zebas said.
He said the family will be able to return to their home.
“We disconnected the power to that part of the house and it is still livable,” Zebas said.
Damage was contained to the kitchen and living room. Smoke from the fire was mostly contained in the attic, he said.
The De Soto Rural, Hillsboro and Hematite fire protection districts and Valle Ambulance District helped with the call, and the Festus Fire Department moved in to De Soto’s station to help cover it.