By Joel Currier
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — A fire early Wednesday gutted two homes and damaged two others, fire officials said.
Investigators blamed an unattended candle for starting a two-alarm fire about 2:40 a.m. in an enclosed sunroom of a house in the 200 block of Pond Hollow Drive in the Merriweather Park subdivision near St. Peters.
Chief Russ Mason of Central County Fire and Rescue said the heat from the blaze ignited the house next door.
Two firefighters and a resident were injured, Mason said. One of the firefighters ended up with a concussion and shoulder injury after falling down a hill when he was accidentally blasted by a fire hose. The other firefighter hurt his leg.
Both were treated at a hospital and released, Mason said. The injured resident suffered smoke inhalation but refused hospital treatment, Mason said.
About three dozen firefighters from Central County, the St. Charles Fire Department and the Cottleville Fire District fought the blaze.
Bill Zieres of the state fire marshal’s office said damage to one of the homes was estimated at $250,000 and $150,000 for the other. Two adjacent homes had minor damage as well.
Investigators found 28 marijuana plants in one of the four homes and made an arrest, Zieres said. No charges were filed Wednesday.
The two houses gutted were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, Mason said. He said radiant heat from the first fire ignited or damaged the adjacent houses.
“It was the biggest fire I’ve ever seen,” said Trudi Barteau, who lives across the street. “It was unbelievable.”
Mason said the first house that caught fire had smoke detectors.
“If it wasn’t for the smoke detector in the one house, it’s very possible we could have had fatalities,” Mason said.
Neighbor Farrah Bari, whose attic was damaged by heat, said she awoke because her pug, Max, was barking loudly at the foot of her bed. She was relieved her house was spared.
“The firefighters, they were working really, really, really hard to save the house.”
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