A Nov. 9 fire destroyed a house at 1809 Stahl Road in Barnhart and sent a firefighter to the hospital, where he was treated for dehydration and fatigue.
At 9:15 p.m., the Antonia Fire Protection District got a call about the fire, and when firefighters arrived at the single-family ranch home, which is off Metropolitan Boulevard, they found about 50 percent of it was in flames, Fire Chief Mike Arnhart said.
“There was fire along the whole roof line,” Assistant Chief Glenn Nivens said.
Shortly before firefighters arrived, a propane tank in the breezeway at the house popped its pressure-relief valve and gas from the tank ignited, fueling the fire, Nivens said.
Because of the “intensity of the fire,” it was a second-alarm fire, calling in additional firefighters, along with extra tankers of water, Arnhart said.
He said firefighters began knocking down the fire on the exterior of the house so crews could enter it.
During the course of fighting the fire, one crew member became dehydrated and fatigued and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released, Arnhart said.
The residents, a man and a woman who were renting the house, were reportedly on the property but not in the home when the fire broke out, Nivens said.
The man reportedly was in the garage and the woman outside on the hillside, Nivens said.
He said Tuesday (Nov. 14) that the cause of the fire was not yet known and the house was “totaled.”
Nivens, who is also the Antonia fire marshal, is investigating the fire, along with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office.
On Tuesday, Nivens said he had not yet spoken with the property owner, and the two people who rented the home had left before he could get their names.
District firefighters offered to call the American Red Cross to help the couple with shelter and emergency needs, but they said they were going to stay with friends, Nivens said.
The Dunklin, Rock Community, High Ridge, Goldman and Mapaville fire protection districts and the Herculaneum and Festus fire departments, as well as Rock Township Ambulance District assisted with the call.