Home heavily damaged in fire, not a total loss

The residents of 1105 Sycamore Dr. spent the last five years remodeling the two story 1970s brick home that sits on a hill overlooking much of the neighborhood.

Tuesday night the homeowner and his son watched it go up in flames.

"It was really a big fire," said Rolla Fire and Rescue Department Training Coordinator Ron Smith who did not know the homeowners name as the fire report is not yet complete. "It was three stories of fire, the basement, the first floor and the second floor."

No one was injured during the blaze, which although not suspicious, is still under investigation.

Smith expects the investigation to rule the fire as an accidental fire originating in the electrical system.

According to Smith, the homeowner and his son were outside doing lawn work when they entered the house to find smoke near an electric outlet and heard crackling and popping noises.

The man made a quick check of the garage and discovered more smoke before dashing out of the home with his son and going to a neighbor's home to call 911 at 7:51 p.m.

Within 3.5 minutes of making the call, fire crews arrived with two fire engines and nine firefighters.

The number of firefighters eventually grew to 23.

Between the time the first crews arrived and the call was placed the fire went from being a cloud of smoke to flames consuming the entire back side of the house.

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Home heavily damaged in fire, not a total loss