Family Pets Lost In Early Morning House Fire At The Lake

MORGAN COUNTY, Mo. — An early morning house fire killed several family pets on Sunday in Gravois Mills.

On May 31 at 4:09 a.m., units with the Gravois Fire Protection District were dispatched to a residential fire on Mini Farm Drive. Initial reports indicated the fire was in the basement.

The first unit arrived at 4:28 a.m. and confirmed all residents were out of the house. They found light smoke showing from the basement and first floor of the structure.

Crews couldn't safely access the fire area due to challenging conditions inside the house, so they withdrew from an interior attack and switched to a transitional attack through a basement window.

The fire was under control around 5 a.m. with no reported injuries to civilians or firefighters. Sadly, several family pets perished in the fire because they were unable to escape.

Following an investigation by the Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office, the cause of the fire has been classified as "undetermined."

A total of nine emergency units and 14 personnel operated at the scene from Gravois FPD, Versailles Rural FPD, Stover Rural FPD, and Sunrise Beach FPD. Additional agencies that assisted the scene were Mid-Mo Ambulance District and Co-Mo Electric Cooperative.

"The Gravois Fire Protection District would like to thank our mutual aid partners and supporting agencies for their assistance and continued commitment to serving the residents of the Lake Area," Chief Dustin Hancock said in a press release.