MOTHER, THREE CHILDREN ESCAPE HOUSE FIRE; FAMILY LOSES EVERYTHING; HOUSE TOTAL LOSS

Candi Brooks retreated to her parents' home across the street, no longer able to watch as a Sunday evening fire engulfed her two-story frame home she and her children rented at 801 Beaudean Lane.

Fear showed on the faces of her three children aged 2, 3 and 4, too young to realize the severity of the day's events, as Brooks sobbed over the family's lost possessions.

Everyone was able to get out of the house, and for that, Brooks was grateful. Family and friends surrounded her to offer words of comfort and to assure the children they would have a place to stay.

"I was talking to her on the phone," said her mother, Sarah Perry. One of her children ran to her and told her the back bedroom was on fire. Brooks was able to phone the fire department on a cell phone as she fled the structure with her children.

"My three-year-old said the two-year-old had found a lighter," Brooks said. She fears that is how the fire started.

Cape Girardeau Fire Capt. Quentin Gaither said the house was totally engulfed when firefighters arrived.

"Once we knew the occupants were out of the house, our next concern was for the safety of the men," said Gaither.

Flames shooting from the front windows and door of the house created a blow-torch effect sending the fire 10 to 15 feet into the air snapping the powers lines, he said.

Firefighters were unable to make the attack on the fire they would have liked because of the live wires on the ground.

"We pretty much had to go in a defensive mode at that time," Gaither said. Due to the intensity of the fire and the fear of a structure collapse, an interior attack could not be made.

Low water pressure in Southeast Cape Girardeau at times also hindered firefighters. The house was what the department calls "fire loaded." It was completely furnished and had bags of clothing and other materials that fueled the fire.

Slats behind plaster walls gave hidden areas for the fire to burn. The attic area presented another difficulty.

"We were not able to get a direct hit on the flames," said Gaither.

The roof of the home collapsed, and at this time it appears the structure will be determined a total loss, he said.

An official report on the fire was expected today.

The house belonged to Dorothy Sigmund who has had rental property in the area for several years. Brooks and her children were able to escape with only the clothes on their backs.