House fire near Miner, Mo., provides test for new tanker truck

A faulty fireplace destroyed a home just outside Miner, Mo., on Sunday afternoon.

Firefighters arrived within eight minutes of being called to find flames shooting from the roof of the two-story stone and wood house at 137 Fox Meadows Drive, just north of the city limits, said Randy Allen, Miner's fire chief. No one was injured.

The couple that own the home were nearby, but not in the house.

Allen said the man was riding a horse while his wife was across the road visiting neighbors.

"At first they thought her husband was out back burning trash," Allen said. "And the smoke just kept getting worse."

The call for help came in at noon. The two-story stone and wood home was fully involved when fire trucks arrived.

The Miner Fire Department called for assistance from Sikeston and Scott County Rural Fire Department firefighters.

The fire is the first time Miner was able to use its new 2,700-gallon tanker truck. He said firefighters used nearly 20,000 gallons of water to quench the blaze.

Allen, who also serves as Miner's building inspector and code enforcer, estimated damage at nearly $70,000. He said a fireplace in the four-bedroom home was the cause of what is being called an accidental fire.

He said the home had no firewall protecting the walls from fireplace heat.

"It would not have met code if it was built inside the city limits," Allen said.

He expressed surprised that the home, which he said was built more than 25 years ago, did not have such a fire years ago.

"If you have fire place, make sure they're cleaned every year," Allen said. "They do make a burning log, it costs about $15 and you use it once a year to clean your flue. It keeps the creosote from building up and it's worth the $15."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127