Carter County sheriff's home burned in weekend fire

ELLSINORE, Mo. -- Arson is not suspected in the weekend fire that destroyed the Ellsinore home of Carter County Sheriff Tommy Adams.

Investigators with the state fire marshal's office have listed the cause as "undetermined due to the extent of the damage," according to Bill Zieres, deputy chief of investigations.

"Nothing suspicious was found," Zieres said.

Zieres said the file remains open, but there is no further investigation to be done at this

point.

The fire was reported Saturday night by Adams'grandmother, who lived nearby, according to Ellsinore Fire Chief Stanley Julian. Both Adams and his wife, he said, were not home at the time.

When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, located about a quarter of a mile west of Ellsinore off U.S. 60, Adams' one-story, modular home was "pretty well fully engulfed," said Julian. "When I got there, it had broken through the roof already."

Julian said when personnel had kicked in the door, the fire "flashed. It was really heated up on the inside."

Julian said Ellsinore's three units remained on the scene about four hours.

Adams said he and his wife "lost everything we had except our lives and our pets' lives.

"The community has been very gracious and everyone has pulled together to help us, and we appreciate all the generosity."