Wednesday afternoon: Fire Marshal Buddy Preston reported that the fire at the home Wednesday morning on County Road 198 started in a closet where a breaker box was located.
According to Preston, fire crews remained on scene fighting the fire and finished performing “mop up” shortly before 2:00pm.
“Because it was a two-story home, firefighters had trouble getting to the fire,” said Preston. “They tried to go up the stairway; however the heat pushed them back.”
Fire crews accessed the upper floor from an exterior area and also made entry through the bottom floor. Preston reported that the home was not a total loss but that it would take an extensive amount of work to repair the damage.
Original Story: Area firefighters joined forces to battle a fire in the second story of a home on County Road 198 shortly after 9:00am Wednesday morning. Brownwood Fire Department along with Bangs & Lake Bridge Volunteer Fire Departments responded to the fire.
Neighbors feeding their horses heard the home’s smoke detectors going off and ran to check on the family next door. Fortunately, no one was home. The neighbors reported hearing the family’s cat and made entry rescuing it about ten feet from the door. One of the neighbors rushed the cat to the veterinarian and had to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation along the way. The cat is expected to fully recover.
The neighbors said they called 9-1-1 and attempted to get the garden hose hoping to help put out the fire; however with the mornings temperature being in the low 20s, they found the hose was frozen.
Construction of the home had just been completed according to neighbors who also said that the family had lost their previous home to a fire last year at this same address.
Firefighters continue battling the fire, the cause of which had not been determined as of 12:30pm Wednesday.
Pictured above firefighters battling the blaze. Below are more pictures of the scene Wednesday morning.
