A single-story ranch home in the 9700 block of Old Hwy. 21 in the Hillsboro area was significantly damaged by a Feb. 1 fire. It’s uninhabitable, so the man who lives there will have to stay somewhere else, at least for now, Goldman Fire Chief Curtis Peters said.
The Goldman Fire Protection District had just finished helping the Hillsboro Fire Protection District with a house fire when at 3:23 p.m., they received a call about the fire on Old Hwy. 21. Firefighters arrived at the home just one minute later, Peters said.
“We went around the curve and there it was,” he said.
When they arrived, smoke was coming from the attic vent, the eaves and the chimney, Peters said.
The homeowner “said he ran up to the city (St. Louis) for a couple of hours and when he returned, he found the house full of fire,” Peters said.
The man had left his phone in St. Louis, so he flagged down a passerby to call 911, Peters added.
When firefighters entered the house, they found heavy fire in the hallway, he said.
They extinguished the fire quickly and spent the rest of the time looking for “extensions of the fire” – other places the fire might have traveled – to make sure the fire was completely out, Peters said.
Representatives from the state Fire Marshals Office were tied up with the earlier fire, so the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office was called in to investigate, Peters said.
They have not determined the cause of the fire yet, he said Tuesday (Feb. 6).
“They think it could be electrical, possibly caused by an extension cord,” Peters said. “But nothing has been ruled out.”
The house had extensive water, fire and smoke damage and is uninhabitable, he said.
Peters said he called the American Red Cross to help the man, but he had already left.
He still had not returned by the time fire officials finished their work at the home, Peters said.
Firefighters left the scene at about 6 p.m.
The Cedar Hill, Hillsboro, De Soto Rural and Mapaville fire protection districts assisted with the call.