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More info today at Foster's:

Fire destroys home, kills pets on day before Thanksgiving

By Mikaela K. Reynolds
mreynolds@fosters.com
Wednesday, November 27, 2013

ALTON — Just hours after firefighters put out a small bedroom fire that did minor damage, a home went up in flames again, killing pets and displacing a family on the day before Thanksgiving.

At 12:28 a.m., firefighters responded to the scene of a reported fire at 1301 Mount Major Highway. There they found a small fire in a bedroom with the mattress and nearby items burning. The fire was extinguished and the scene was cleared by 2:30 a.m., with some crews remaining until after 3 a.m.

But by 4:30 a.m., officials were called back to the scene for a fully involved fire. Route 11 to 11D in Alton were closed as firefighters battled the blaze. Chief Scott Williams said the fire consumed the home, describing it as a “total loss.”

Williams didn't know the cause of the second fire but didn't believe it was a result of the initial blaze.

“I feel confident that it was an extinguished fire,” he said of the first blaze. He said crews spent hours overhauling the scene and used a thermal imaging camera to confirm all hot spots had been addressed.

Though a cause for the initial fire was not determined, officials said residents of the home reported that one resident had a cigarette. Williams would not rule that out as a possible cause.

Local firefighters, with the help of crews from Farmington and New Durham, extinguished the second fire and called in the State Fire Marshal's Office to conduct an investigation. Williams said he could not comment on why the fire marshal was called.

The residents of the home let their pet dog and cat out during the first fire, but let them back in afterward. Both animals were in the home when the second fire began and perished during the blaze. The family of two adults and one child were uninjured and are now staying at a nearby home.

The State Fire Marshal's Office was expected to investigate the fire most of today.