Firefighters face 16-degree temps to battle house fire

Poplar Bluff firefighters braved 16-degree temperatures for two hours Tuesday afternoon fighting a structure fire at 1018 Park Ave.

According to Battalion Chief Jeff Hale’s report, Fire Chief Mike Moffitt was the first of the nine firefighters to arrive at the scene at 3:51 p.m.

Moffitt reported everyone was out of the structure and heavy smoke was showing. Occupants Wysteria Oetjen, 20, and Alexya Kimbrow, 20, both complained of a cough from smoke. They stated they were going to drive to the hospital to be examined.

Hale reported, crews found fire in the upstairs’ walls and in the ceiling of the main level. They breached the walls and ceiling to extinguish the fire. The Thermal Imaging Camera was used to make certain the fire was out. The ventilation also was used.

The three crews used 2,000 gallons of water to put out the fire in the 2,000 square foot two-story structure. Battery detectors alerted the occupants of the fire, which began in the crawl space between the ceiling and floor assembly, Hale said in his report.

Mitchell McGarrity owns the structure,

Along with Hale and Moffitt were firefighters Tyler Daggett, Dustin Graves, Tyler Gutterman, Justin Maddock, Jonathan Miller, Justin Moyers and Travis Taylor.

Also at the scene were Poplar Bluff police, Municipal Utilities and Butler County EMS.