PARK HILLS, Mo. — Minutes after getting a 6:42 a.m. Saturday call from a neighbor reporting a house fire in St. Francois County, Park Hill Fire Department crews found a two-story home fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters started to put out the fire as soon as they arrived, but they would need help.
Because of the heat and work necessary to ensure the fire was out, the one-alarm fire was upgraded to a two- and then a three-alarm fire. Several neighboring fire departments sent help to the house fire on Coffman Street, a written release on the Park Hills Fire Department Facebook page said.
"Park Hills Fire Department Chief Brad Weiss thanks the many neighboring fire departments that assisted in fighting the fire, which included Bismarck FPD, Big River FPD, Desloge FD, Farmington FD, Leadington FD, Leadwood FPD, Pilot Knob FPD, Terre du Lac FD, Wolf Creek FD, Irondale FD, Potosi FD," the written statement said. "De Soto Rural FPD assisted by standing by to provide fire coverage for other areas of Park Hills during fire suppression efforts."
Nearby fire departments weren't the only ones to lend a hand.
"The St. Francois County ambulance district provided rehab and water to the firefighters on the scene," the statement said. "Several local restaurants and businesses donated food and water during the over 6 hours firefighters were on the scene."
Firefighters were able to get the fire under control within 40 minutes, and no one was hurt. The fire destroyed the building and damaged a nearby home.
Fire officials did not say what cause the fire.
Crews stayed at the scene of the fire for several hours for overhaul. Overhaul is a firefighting term for making a fire scene safe after it is controlled by extinguishing or removing burned material and checking inside walls and hidden spaces, according to a National Fire Incident Reporting System document.
The fire will be investigated by the Missouri Division of Fire Safety.
