Fire destroys Poplar Street house

Poplar Bluff firefighters escaped injury Tuesday afternoon when a roof caved in while they were battling a fire at a Poplar Street home.

“We got called at 11:20 (a.m. to) 842 Poplar” regarding a possible structure fire, explained fire Capt. Blaine Murrell. The home reportedly is owned by Eli Venable and occupied by Roy Daves.

Heavy smoke, Murrell said, was coming from the gable end of the home when firefighters arrived.

“When we got there, we were told there was a possibility of two people still being inside,” said Murrell. “We tried to make entry.

“It was extreme heat conditions. It took us a little bit to get in because of the heat.… That thing was hot.”

Because someone may have been inside, “we were having to actively search for victims” while “trying to get a handle on the fire that had already progressed to the attic,” said Chief Ralph Stucker.

When firefighters arrive at a fire scene, Stucker said, they attempt to get ahead of the fire and stop it from progressing.

“When we can’t do that; we’re fighting a losing battle,” Stucker said.

The fire, according to Murrell, ended up “ventilating itself” through the roof on the rear part of the home.

“The guys got in and made the interior attack to get the fire knocked down,” Murrell said. “Most of the fire was in the attic space. We have no idea how long it had been burning.”

Murrell said the roof ended up caving in.

“We had to sound an alarm to get all the guys out,” Murrell explained.

“We had crews in the back of the house; me and (firefighter) Chad Bell were in the front bedroom when they activated the evacuation alarm,” explained Stucker.

Firefighters, he said, became a “little concerned” when they saw the ceiling start collapsing toward the back portion of the home.

Personnel, he said, was outside watching the progression of the fire and “felt it was time for all of us to come out.”

“Once we evacuated, we went to a defensive attack,” Murrell said. “Once we had the fire pretty well knocked down, we went back inside to see if we could find anybody inside.”

The two “20 something females” nor was anyone else were not found inside, Murrell said.

According to Stucker, four or five crews went back in, looking for victims.

“Hopefully, someone will find them, and they’ll be OK, and we can get an idea of what was going on when they left,” he said.

“I’m glad they weren’t in there,” said Murrell, who indicated firefighters found the family dog inside.

“Capt. (Roy) Lane and Firefighter Bell were trying to open windows/break windows to get ventilation,” Murrell explained. “They found the dog inside the building.”

There had been three or four people in that room, but no one had seen him, Murrell said.

“When they broke the window, he came out,” Murrell said. “They were reaching in to pull him out (when) he just shot right out.”

Murrell said the firefighters were able to catch the dog, which suffered a cut on his head from the broken glass.

“Chad and I were in the bedroom they got the dog out of,” said Stucker, who, at one point, had lifted the bed to make sure no one was underneath.

Bell, Stucker said, was using the department’s thermal-imaging camera, and he didn’t see anything give off heat indications in the room.

“Chad had no idea where the dog was at,” said Stucker, who indicated it may not have been in the room at the same time as he and Bell.

As the firefighters continue to battle the blaze, Murrell said, one shift (five firefighters) was called back to help.

Heat from the fire reportedly melted the siding on the east side of 838 Poplar St.

Murrell said an investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office was contacted to investigate the fire’s cause.

“The fire marshal ruled it undetermined; there was so much damage, he couldn’t tell where it started because the roof caved in,” said Murrell, who indicated firefighters remained on the scene until about 5:10 p.m.

“We were there so long because the fire marshal had to come from Arnold; it took him a couple of hours to get here,” Murrell said.