Jefferson City firefighters extinguish residential blaze

Jefferson City Fire Department truck
Jefferson City Fire Department truck

Improperly discarded smoking material led to a structure fire Thursday morning in Jefferson City.

Fire department reports show the fire was reported at 6:24 a.m. in the 900 block of Monroe St.

First arriving crews saw smoke coming from a 1 1/2 story home. Bystanders could not confirm that the residents were out of the home so some of the firefighters began putting out the fire while others did a search for occupants. No one was found in the home. However, there were three dogs inside and one of them died due to smoke inhalation, despite efforts to revive him.

Investigators determined that the fire started in a wastebasket where the smoking material had been discarded. They also found that there were no smoke detectors in the home.

The blaze did the most damage in the living room on the main floor, where the waste basket was located. Fire officials estimated the fire to have done $50,000 worth of damage.