A fire that destroyed an abandoned mobile home south of Festus is considered suspicious and is under investigation, according to Chuck Boyer, assistant fire chief of Festus Fire Department.
He said firefighters received a call at about 6:55 p.m. July 7 about a mobile home in the 12000 block of Pleasant Heights Drive off of Hwy. CC south of Festus.
“It was an abandoned trailer,” he said. “It had fire coming out of the windows. Upon arrival, there was heavy smoke. We had it under control in, probably, 45 minutes.
“(The mobile home) had exposure to a garage. They stopped the fire before it got (to the garage). It has a wood frame and vinyl siding. The fire melted some of the siding.”
He described the mobile home as “a total loss.” He said firefighters did not report any injuries and they remained at the site for nearly four hours.
“We didn’t clear the scene until 10:52 p.m.,” Boyer said. “We stayed on scene because it was suspicious. It’s under investigation by the (Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office) and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.”
He said that battling the fire required the nearby roadway to be shut down to traffic.
“We had Hwy. CC shut down for a couple of hours,” he said. “The mobile home is on Pleasant Heights right at Hwy. CC. It was a residential lot. I don’t know how long it had been vacant.”
The Crystal City Fire Department and the Jefferson R-7, Hematite, De Soto Rural, Dunklin, Mapaville and Rock Community fire districts, as well as the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District, assisted with the call.