Photo: Fire at a home located at 593 State Highway 126 just south of Lithia Creek on the east side of the roadway. Photo: Courtesy Justin Butterfield
A two-and-a-half story home near Gassville was destroyed by fire early Thursday.
Gassville Fire Chief Michael Glotzl says the home was located at 593 State Highway 126 just south of Lithia Creek on the east side of the roadway.
Chief Glotzl says the four occupants of the home escaped uninjured. However, three dogs perished in the blaze, with firemen, a police office and the occupants rescuing five others.
Photo: Fire at a home located at 593 State Highway 126 just south of Lithia Creek on the east side of the roadway. Photo: Courtesy Justin Butterfield
He says his department responded to the blaze shortly before midnight and were on the scene about 12 hours.
Glotzl says the home was one of the larger structures his department has responded to.
Photo: Fire destroyed a home Thursday located at 593 State Highway 126 just south of Lithia Creek. Photo: realtor.com
He says the fire originated in the rear of the structure, where an older stone building connected to the main structure.
Firefighters attacked the aggressive blaze in the rear but were hampered in their efforts by a high-pressure gas line. The gas line fueled the blaze forcing the spread of the fire into the main structure.
A city backhoe was brought to the scene to raze the structure, allowing firefighters to conduct a final extinguishment.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Gassville received backup from the Cotter and Cotter/Gassville Rural departments through auto aid and the Midway and Mountain Home departments under mutual aid. Approximately 32 firemen responded to the blaze.
Thursday afternoon, Gassville firefighters responded to a blaze near U.S. Highway 62 in close proximity to the Cotter water tower.
Upon arrival, they discovered the large blaze covering about 100 acres was a prescribed burn on private property and was under control.
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