Family escapes unhurt from house fire

Firefighters responded at 6:12 a.m. Wednesday to the home of Richard and LaDonna Hengst at 734 W. Rodney, where a fire caused damage to a family room and a bedroom.

LaDonna Hengst and the couple's two children, Grant and LeAnne, were asleep when the blaze broke out, said Cape Girardeau fire battalion chief Steve Niswonger. The son woke from the light and heat from the fire and alerted his sister and mother; all escaped without injury.

Richard Hengst was not home at the time.

Niswonger said the fireplace was replenished with new logs at about 4 a.m., however, the official cause is still undetermined. The fire did about $30,000 in damage to the home.