Fire damaged a house in the Sunrise Lake subdivision south of De Soto on Feb. 21.
The resident of the house was home at the time. He discovered the fire and called 911, telling them it was in the attic, said Chief Paul Mayer of the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District.
The district received the call at 12:01 a.m., and when firefighters arrived at the home, the resident was safe and outside waiting for them. However, the fire was through the roof of the ranch house, Mayer said.
“They (firefighters) initially attacked the fire from the inside of the house,” he said.
The fire had also spread throughout the attic. The roof in the garage area also had burned and had fallen down. The first floor of the house was not burned, but in order to put out the blaze, firefighters had to take down the ceiling and pull out the smoldering insulation, “which basically trashes the house,” he said.
“There’s a lot of difficulty in an attic fire because of the insulation, which smolders and has to be pulled out,” Mayer said.
If the insulation is not removed, it will keep smoldering and the fire can restart, he said.
Currently the house is not livable, but possibly could be repaired, Mayer said.
“It’s the call of the insurance company whether they bulldoze it or replace the trusses and walls,” Mayer said.
Mayer said the man who lived there had a place to stay for the night.
The state Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire, he said.
Firefighters were back in service at about 4 a.m.
The De Soto and Desloge fire departments, the Big River and Lake Timberline fire associations, the Hematite and Potosi fire protection districts and the Valle Ambulance District helped with the call.