Five people received medical treatment following a fire at the Sycamore Hills Apartments in De Soto early Wednesday morning (Oct. 27). One of those who received treatment, a woman, was taken to an area hospital, De Soto Fire Chief James Maupin said.
He said De Soto Fire got a call at 2:07 a.m. about the fire at the apartment complex, 1221 Cedar Valley Drive.
“Crews arrived on scene and found a fire in one apartment,” Maupin said. “There are eight apartments in the building. Crews worked really hard and maintained the fire to the top floor. There are three floors.
“Four people received medical treatment by paramedics. One woman was taken by Valle ambulance to an area hospital. Her injuries were not life threatening, smoke inhalation and burns.”
Maupin said seven people had been in the building at the time of the fire, and they all got out of the building. In addition, firefighters retrieved two pets from the building and returned them to their owners.
He said the building overall was not seriously damaged.
“The building is repairable,” Maupin said. “Basically, with cleanup and repair, it should be fine. Two apartments had their electricity turned off. It’s up to the owner of the apartments whether or not to let (tenants) go back in.”
Maupin said the American Red Cross was contacted to help those who might have been displaced by the fire.
As of late Wednesday morning, the cause of the fire had not been determined and was being investigated by the state fire marshal’s office, he said.
Maupin said firefighters were on the scene for about 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The Crystal City and Festus fire departments and the Dunklin, De Soto Rural, Hematite and Hillsboro fire protection districts helped with the call. The Valle and Joachim-Plattin ambulance districts also responded to the scene.