Firefighters were still battling a fire at a house in the 2300 block of Haverstick School Road southwest of Festus at 5 p.m. today (May 2) after arriving on the scene about two hours earlier.
A woman, two children and two dogs escaped the house unharmed, Chief Robert Hipes Jr. of the Hematite Fire Protection District said this evening while he oversaw firefighters hose down the structure.
The blaze occurred after an explosion at the house, Hipes said.
“She (the woman who escaped from the house) said she heard an explosion and went to the door leading to the carport. She opened the door and there were flames. She went after the kids who were in the bathtub,” Hipes said.
He said once the fire is put out, an investigation will be conducted to try to determine how the fire started.
A neighbor, Clay Kappler, said he heard the explosion sometime before 3 p.m. He said he helped the woman get her kids safely away from the yard.
“She had two pit bulls – I was afraid the dogs would attack,” Kappler said. “I went over (to the fence). She got the kids out. She handed them to me over the fence. They’re little kids, one boy and one girl.”
Several other fire districts were helping fight the blaze, Hipes said.