Fires destroy two Essex-area homes

ESSEX, Mo. -- The Essex Fire Department was busy over the weekend when two homes were destroyed by fire.

The John Hunter home south of Frisco, Missouri, and a house owned by Mike King in the Peaceful Acres subdivision south of Essex were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, and there was little they could do to save the houses.

Assistant Essex fire chief Chad Maddox said the department received the report of the Hunter home fire at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. He said the department was on the scene within 10 minutes but found the house "fully involved" in flames when firefighters arrived. Firefighters battled the blaze for approximately four hours.

Maddox said the Hunter family was at home at the time of the fire, but no one was injured.

He said John Hunter reported the family noticed smoke and then flames coming from the garage attached to the house. They then called the fire department. Maddox said the house was destroyed, with only the fireplace chimney and a rock wall on the north side of the house left standing. He said the cause of the fire was unknown, but it was accidental.

Essex fire chief Raymond Fuwell said the fire department received another report of a fire at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. A house King owned on Kathyrn Street in Peaceful Acres was fully engulfed by the time firefighters arrived.

Fuwell said the house was rental property, and no one was home at the time of the fire.

Firefighters battled to control the blaze to prevent it from spreading to nearby houses, but there was no hope of saving the house, Fuwell said.

Fuwell said he did not know the cause of the fire, and it would be difficult to determine because the house basically was "reduced to ashes."

Arson suspected in Poplar Bluff fire

The Office of the Missouri State Fire Marshal is investigating a possible act of arson over the weekend at a downtown Poplar Bluff, Missouri, dance club.

Poplar Bluff police also are investigating a suspected forced entry and theft associated with the fire.

The incident was reported at 1 p.m. Monday but is believed to have occurred sometime over the weekend at Emari's, 415 Vine St. According to reports, the owner arrived Monday morning to discover the front door ajar and the smell of smoke in the building and notified police. The owner told police no one had been in the building legally since Nov. 25.

Officers arrived on the scene after the report and discovered one of the door locks was sticking out, preventing the door from closing. They also observed a smell of smoke in the building, soot covering the area and water running near the bar.

Sixteen pairs of baby shoes and a DVR television recorder also were reported stolen in the incident.

Firefighters arrived on the scene as police were investigating. The fire was centered in the kitchen area of the building. Damage estimates were not available at press time but were listed in reports as "moderate."

-- From staff reports