Rural house consumed by flames

DELTA, Mo. -- A rural Cape Girardeau County home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters responded to the scene early Wednesday morning at 14664 Highway 25.

The call for service was dispatched at 2:57 a.m. The house was unoccupied and sits about midway between Delta and Blowmeyer. Highway 25 was shut down temporarily as smoke crossed the lanes of traffic.

"There were flames coming out of all the windows when we arrived," said John Sachen of the Delta Fire Protection District. "But 85 to 90 percent of what was there when we arrived is still standing."

Delta fire chief Alvin Frank was the first on the scene. Extra tankers were called in from fire departments in Gordonville and Advance and extra personnel were requested from the Whitewater department, Sachen said.

More than 25 firefighters were on the scene and extinguished the blaze and saturated the smoldering debris with foam.

The state fire marshal's office and staff investigators from the Delta district are continuing an investigation into the cause of the fire, Sachen said. The homeowners were in the process of refurbishing the home, he said.