MCGIRK, Mo. - A 4-year-old child died in a fire Monday in McGirk.
Moniteau County deputies responded to a 911 call of a trailer on fire on State Street in McGirk around 10:45 a.m. They arrived to a smoking trailer, where they learned a small child might be inside. Smoke and fire were coming from throughout the trailer, with the heaviest from the rear of the structure. The trailer is roughly 25 feet away from the California Rural Fire Protection District Station 2.
Deputies immediately tried to enter the trailer through the front door but were hampered by the flames, according to a news release from the Moniteau County Sheriff's Department. Deputies then broke out a window in the back of the trailer, attempting to locate the child through heavy smoke until fire personnel arrived.
Firefighters located the child, who was taken to an ambulance and transported to a hospital in Jefferson City but did not survive.
"It saddens us greatly when a small child is involved in a tragedy such as this, and our prayers go out to the family of the victim," Moniteau County Sheriff Tony Wheatley said in the news release. "I am also very proud of the deputies who risked their lives to try and save another."
Three Moniteau County deputies were treated for smoke inhalation and later released.
By late in the afternoon, the Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office was on the scene investigating the cause of the fire. Numerous items had been pulled from the trailer and scattered in the yard as marshals and deputies went around the trailer, looking for any potential clues as to what started the blaze. Investigators declined to comment on how long the investigation may take.
Around 4:15 p.m., a man later identified as a family member arrived on the scene and talked for roughly 20 minutes with investigators. He declined to comment as to how family members were coping after the tragedy.
The American Red Cross did announce Monday afternoon that their volunteers provided shelter, mental health services and other assistance to the family, and that they would monitor the recovery.