While no residents were home when a fire destroyed a house in the 6400 block of Hwy. 61-67 in Imperial on Oct. 26, two dogs and a cat died in the blaze. Another dog escaped from the home before firefighters arrived, the Rock Community Fire Protection District reported.
Rock Fire got a call at 9:49 a.m. Oct. 26 about the blaze, and when the first crew arrived at 9:56 a.m., firefighters saw smoke billowing from the single-story home and flames through the windows. The fire was under control at about 12:45 p.m., the report said.
As of Oct. 27, it was still unknown where in the home the fire started. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, too, Rock Fire reported.
Jessica Ackermann, who lived at the home with a man and two children, said the family is currently living with family members. She said they are working with the Red Cross to recover from the fire.
Ackermann said someone who saw the fire was able to get the one dog out of the home, and the dog was treated by a veterinarian and returned to the family two days after the fire.
The Antonia and Dunklin fire protection districts assisted with the call. The Rock Township Ambulance District, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and Jefferson County Animal Control also responded to the call.