A vacant house at 3823 Cole’s Place will need “extensive rehab to make it livable” after it was damaged by an electrical fire Dec. 15, De Soto Rural Fire Protection District Assistant Chief Tom Fitzgerald said.
The district was dispatched just before noon to the home in the Valle Lake subdivision. When they arrived, they found smoke coming from the house and the exterior wall and attic on fire, he said.
Fitzgerald said the fire appeared to travel from the electric meter up the wall and into the attic.
“It was a vacant home but it still had electricity,” he said.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and were on the scene for about two hours, Fitzgerald said.
He said he does not know who owns the home and the fire district had not heard from an owner, a subdivision trustees or an insurance company as of Dec. 28.
In addition to De Soto Rural, the De Soto Fire Department, Hematite, Jefferson R-7 and Big River fire protection districts and the Valle Ambulance District assisted with the call.