Empty structure burns early Wednesday morning

The Missouri State Fire Marshal is investigating an early morning fire Wednesday in a vacant house at 1502 Cross St. The fire was reported by a neighbor.

Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Mike Moffitt said, “At approximately 4 this morning, A Shift was dispatched to a structure fire. When they arrived on scene the structure was fully involved. Due to the time of day the fire occurred and the fact that it was unoccupied, the fire had its best opportunity to advance to a fully involved stage.”

Moffitt said, “All the firefighters worked hard and did a great job extinguishing the fire. I am happy to report that everyone went home safe. We want to thank PBPD and Butler County EMS for always assisting us at these structure fires.”

A dozen Poplar Bluff firefighters were assisted by the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Municipal Utilities and Butler County EMS. Spire Gas was contacted. Fire crews spent more than fours hours at the scene.

According to Capt. Chad Bell, the structure had no utility service and was unsecured.

Fire personnel used tools to gain access underneath the structure to extinguish hot spots, Bell said a total of 1,100 gallons of water was used. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, but was confined to the original one-story structure, which was 1,100 square feet.

The property is owned by Haynes Investment.