A fire at a house in the 500 block of Forest Street in Festus has displaced two people until repairs can be made to the structure, officials reported.
Chuck Boyer, Festus assistant fire chief, said the department responded to a call at about 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 21.
Boyer said two people he believes to be a father and his adult daughter live in the house, but only the daughter was home when the fire occurred. She got out safely, he said.
“It was a fire in the attic,” he said. “It was all contained to the attic. There was fire damage to the attic and water damage throughout the house.
“The owner’s daughter had come home and noticed smoke coming out of the roof. The house will need to be rehabbed before they can move back.”
Boyer said no injuries were reported from the incident. He said the residents told firefighters they have family they can stay with, so the Red Cross was not contacted to assist them in finding lodging.
“The fire was ruled an accident,” he said. “It possibly started in the wiring in the attic.”
He said firefighters remained on scene for about two hours.
The residents live with numerous pets and all were accounted for, Boyer said.
“We did take out two aquariums with reptiles and a cat,” he said. “Other cats had been taken out before we got there. There also was an exotic frog not taken out of the house that was fine.”
The Crystal City and Herculaneum fire departments and Hematite, Mapaville, Dunklin and Jefferson R-7 fire protection districts helped with the call and the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District also responded.