By Brian McCauley
Miami County Republic – August 21, 2013
Submitted by Newz Group Clipping Service – September 20, 2013
Firefighters could not keep flames from destroying a Miami County home northwest of Paola early Thursday morning, but all of the occupants were able to escape unharmed.
Paola Fire Chief Andy Martin said the call came in at 2:54 a.m. Thursday morning. A total of 18 members of the Paola Volunteer Fire Department responded to the house fire at 34805 W 263rd St. They were joined by two firefighters from Osawatomie and three from Wellsville, Martin said.
A few Louisburg firefighters also traveled to the Paola Fire Station to cover for the crews at the fire.
Martin said there were no working smoke detectors in the home, but the occupants awoke after smelling smoke and managed to get out of the house unharmed. There were three adults and one child inside the home, and they received help from the Red Cross, Martin said.
Because the home was fully engulfed, and it was confirmed that there was no one inside, the firefighters took a defensive approach to fight the fire.
“We’re not going to put our personnel at risk when we know it’s a total loss,” Martin said.
It took crews about two hours, and almost 30,000 gallons of water, to put the fire out, Martin said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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