Authorities say a fire in a house believed to have started when a dog house heater failed during a snowstorm was under control, only to blow up and destroy a South Dakota rural house.
YANKTON, SD – Officials say a fire in a house believed to have started when a heater in a dog house failed during a snowstorm was under control on Monday night, only to explode on Tuesday and destroy a rural home in South Dakota.
The Yankton Fire Department said the electric fire that started in the dog house around 7 pm on Monday engulfed a shed, spread across the side of the house and hit the attic. The fire also hit a propane line connected to a 125-gallon tank.
The firefighters were at home for two and a half hours on Monday night and thought they had put out the fire, which displaced four people and the dog, deputy chief and fireman Larry Nickles told Yankton Press & Dakotan.
When Nickles left the site, two rooms suffered water damage and minor smoke damage was reported elsewhere, but the house was in good condition so the heating was still on, he said. Firefighters made holes in the metal roof of the house, but they may not have located all the burning material, which led to the re-ignition on Tuesday, the deputy chief said.
The house had only an isolated space between the cathedral ceilings and the roof, which Nickles said was a factor in the fire. Firefighters were called back to the scene at about 5:15 am on Tuesday, when flames were shooting from the roof. At that time, the storm had made the roof too slippery to be stepped on.
“Our estimate now is that the house has been destroyed,” said Nickles. “The dog is not happy that he lost his home, but there were no injuries.”