Firefighter briefly hospitalized from Tuesday home fire

The fire that destroyed a house at 2816 County Road 645 in Cape Girardeau County rekindled overnight Tuesday, and one firefighter briefly was hospitalized for a heat-related illness.

Cape Girardeau Fire Department assistant chief Mark Hasheider said Cape department and the East County Fire Protection district were prepared for the rekindling and responded early Wednesday morning.

"The original fire was extremely extensive," Hasheider said. "Acccessibility to different portions was a concern, and because of limited visibility, we wanted to watch it overnight and assist in the investigation the next morning."

Responders from East County still were recovering from the night before, after their crew, along with five others, spent hours in the hot weather battling the flames. Hasheider said East County asked for assistance so some of their crew could rest.

One Cape Girardeau firefighter was taken Tuesday night to Saint Francis Medical Center with heat-related injuries, but was released Wednesday. Hasheider said he's doing fine now.

"[Last night's fire] was extremely hard, and the biggest problem was the extreme temperatures firefighters were dealing with," Hasheider said. "Normally, after being in the heat, they can come out into cooler temperatures and cool down, but they were not able to do that last night, and it takes a toll on the firefighters."

Hasheider said he hadn't heard of any other injuries from the fire, and he did not expect the fire to rekindle again. No one was home at the time of fire, and all five of the homeowners' dogs escaped to safely.

East County Fire Protection Lt. Josh Boyd said Wednesday afternoon an investigation of the fire's cause of the fire was ongoing.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

pertinent address:

2816 County Road 645, Jackson