A fire on Sunday morning, Sept. 15, caused significant damage and displaced the resident, Festus Fire Chief Jeff Broombaugh said.
He said his department received a call about 11:20 a.m. to a fire in the 100 block of Green Brier Blvd.
The resident was outside the one-story house when firefighters arrived and no injuries were reported, he said.
“Firefighters arrived and there was fire in the back side of the house that got into the attic,” Broombaugh said. “The attic and the back were burning pretty good. The resident vacated by the time we got there.
“There was a significant amount of damage. It burned up the deck in back and the attic. The rest of the house had water damage from the firefighters putting it out.”
He said as of Tuesday, Sept. 17, the cause had not been determined.
“The cause is still under investigation,” Broombaugh said “It did not appear to be suspicious.”
Repairs must be made to the house before the resident may move back in, he said.
“There is no way for him to live there (until repairs occur),” he said. “I think it can be repaired.”
Broombaugh did not have information about the resident other than he is an elderly man and it was his understanding the man would stay with family.
“There was family there,” he said.
He said firefighters remained on the scene until about 1:40 p.m.
Broombaugh said many agencies were contacted because of the initial appearance of the fire.
“It went to a second alarm,” he said. “It appeared to be a large fire so they called extra firefighters.”
He said the Crystal City, Herculaneum and De Soto fire departments and the Rock Community, Goldman, Mapaville, De Soto Rural, Antonia, Hematite and Dunklin fire protection districts and Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District also responded.