A three-vehicle garage in the 4700 block of Old School Trail Road north of De Soto was destroyed by fire on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1. Three vehicles and a pile of lumber inside the garage, as well as a couple of nearby sheds, were destroyed by the fire, too, De Soto Rural Deputy Fire Chief John Scullin said.
He said the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District got a call at 7:10 p.m. about the fire, and firefighters arrived on the scene within 10 minutes and had the fire under control by 7:40 p.m.
Scullin said the fire originated in the 20-by-20-foot garage. In addition to the garage, vehicles and other items that were destroyed by the fire, the side of the nearby house sustained minor heat damage.
No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown but not considered suspicious, he said.
Firefighters had just returned to the station from another fire when the call for the garage fire came in, so the fire district upgraded the call to a second alarm to get additional firefighters to the scene, Scullin said.
The Hillsboro, Hematite, Mapaville, Jefferson R-7 and Cedar Hill fire protection districts and the De Soto and Festus fire departments helped with the call. The Valle Ambulance District also responded to the scene.