STOVER, Mo. — Firefighters battled high winds on multiple fronts Monday night in a house fire that destroyed one home and threatened others, officials say.
Morgan County 9-1-1 received an emergency call at 11:50 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20 reporting a fire at the home of John Bidmosko and Sharon Van Bushirk. The home is located on Jet Ski Road off of Ivy Bend Road in Stover, Mo.
The Ivy Bend Fire and Rescue Chief, Assistant Chief and Battalion Chief were all out of town at the time of the call. Taking up incident command at the beginning of the fight was Ivy Bend Fire and Rescue Firefighter Jim Rolands.
According to Rolands, units arrived on the scene within five minutes of the call, finding one home fully engulfed in flames and one outbuilding catching fire due 45 mph winds.
Firefighters made an attack on the residence until they ran out of water. Ivy Bend Fire called for mutual aid, with 39 firefighters from Versailles Rural, Stover, Gravois, Moreau and Cole Camp Fire Protection Districts responding with water trucks.
As high winds whipped at the flames, a brush fire ignited on the other side of Ivy Bend Road.
After the arrival of the mutual aid, incident command was turned over to Versailles Rural Fire Chief Doc Jones.
“Once the fire jumped the road it had to be fought on two fronts,” Jones said. The fire districts split forces to fight the fire on opposite sides of the road.
According to Jones, the home was already a complete loss when he arrived, so crews focused on an offensive approach by creating a wall to contain the fire and protect nearby structures. That tactic was effective, and the flames were prevented from spreading to any other nearby homes.
A Versailles Mid Mo Ambulance crew stood by in case they were needed for injuries, smoke inhalation or burns. Eldon, Versailles and Sunrise Beach Fire Protection Districts were placed on stand-by to respond to other incidents, as needed.
The home was a complete loss but the residents were able to escape without injury. However, several pets did perish in the fire. Officials say the fire began in the living room and the entire house was engulfed in a matter of four minutes.
No firefighters were injured in the response, and the last units cleared the scene at approximately 3 a.m.
The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, but it is suspected to have started in a living room chimney. Officials say it spread quickly, with the entire house engulfed in about four minutes.
“Thank God for mutual aid, more than half of our crew was out of town,” Rolands said. Ivy Bend Fire is a non-tax funded volunteer fire department and currently is in need of apparatus and volunteers.
Morgan County 911 issued a press release on Tuesday, Jan. 21 containing steps to preventing chimney fires. The release emphasized that keeping chimneys clean is a key step in prevention. The following signs indicate a chimney in need of a cleaning:
• Burned wood odors coming from the fireplace when it's not being used. • Fires that seem to burn poorly or that dump smoke back into the room. • A black damper, caked with creosote. Since it sits right above the firebox, the damper is often the easiest thing to see and reach. If you see “black gunk” or you can pull out chunks of residue, there's a dangerous amount of creosote buildup.
“How often you need to clean your chimney depends a great deal on how much you use it,” the release stated. “The kinds of fires you build and the type of wood you use also govern cleaning frequency. As a rule of thumb, it's a good idea to have chimneys cleaned at least once a year, usually before cold weather sets in. Some people prefer to do it in the spring, and some chimney sweeps offer special promotions at this time of year to keep business going. This is fine, too, but scheduling a fall cleaning will also clear out anything that might have fallen into the chimney during the summer.”
Local officials recommend hiring a professional chimney sweep to ensure a thorough cleaning and also recommends homeowners look for a sweep that is credentialed by the National Chimney Sweep Guild or the Chimney Safety Institute of America.
