No one harmed in 'tricky' house fire

A home at 6 Woodlawn Avenue caught fire Monday morning.

Timothy McKinney was home when the fire started, he said, and managed to get everyone out — aside from the family dog called Runt, who he feared was still in the house.

“It’s a sudden shock,” he said. The fire, he said, started under the porch and worked its way up a wall.

Capt. Ronnie Crupper, who led the attack on the fire, confirmed this. It seemed to start under the floor, near the front of the house before working up into the attic, meaning firefighters had to attack flames in the crawlspace and the attic alike.

“This was a tricky one,” he said. Because the nearest hydrant was out of service, firefighters had to run a large hose to the

next-closest hydrant, roughly 750 feet away, Capt. Seth Kallick added.

Kallick said he couldn’t tell much about what caused the fire at a glance, but an investigation could reveal more.

“It doesn’t appear to be intentional, I can tell you that much,” he said. “There are about 12 different possibilities for what started it, so I can’t say anything yet.”

Once the fire was out, Crupper said, it was apparent that the house will need significant renovation to be livable again, though the majority of the damage was in the floor and roof. The contents of the home, he said, seemed to be OK.

The American Red Cross, he said, was working to find the home’s residents a place to stay.

On a positive note, the dog, Runt, did make it out OK, despite of all the smoke.

"It doesn’t appear to be intentional, I can tell you that much. There are about 12 different possibilities for what started it, so I can’t say anything yet." CAPT. SETH KALLICK Bella Vista Fire Department

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista Firefighter-EMT Justin Tesreau, left, starts to remove his helmet after handing Runt, who was still in the house during the fire, back to his owners, Amber and Timothy McKinney.

Capt. Brandon Earley, left, stands on the roof with firefighter-EMT Utah Julius while firefighter-EMT Ty Brunkhardt saws a hole in the roof to better access the Woodlawn Avenue fire.

Firefighter-EMT Ty Brunkhardt, left, holds a Halligan tool while firefigher-EMT Justin Tesreau and Capt. Ronnie Crupper watch firefighter-EMT Utah Julius exit the burning house at 6 Woodlawn Ave.

Bella Vista firefighters work to put holes in the burning house at 6 Woodlawn Avenue to allow more water to reach the flames.

Capt. Ronnie Crupper, left, walks away while Capt. Brandon Earley examines the structure fire at 6 Woodlawn Avenue Monday morning. Crupper said the fire appeared to start near the edge of the house, under the covered patio, before climbing a wall and...