Volunteer firemen from the Owensville Fire Protection District were dispatched at 12:57 a.m. Sunday by Gasconade County E-911 to the 2000 block of Simpson Road south of Owensville for a structure fire of a non-dwelling building.

Fire Chief Jeff Arnold said Monday the fire had consumed the 30-by-50-foot shop building by the time firemen arrive. The building collapsed but the property owner said goats inside the structure had been able to escape prior to their arrival.

The cause of the fire appears to have been electrical in nature. Due to the extreme cold overnight, mutual aid assistance was initially sought for manpower needs but then canceled. Firemen remained on the scene for more than an hour, the report noted, “battling the flames, the snow and the extreme cold.”

Mutual aid on scene providing support were the Owensville Area Ambulance District,. the Cuba Fire Protection District, the Gerald-Rosebud Fire Protection District and the Belle Fire Protection District.

Debbie Green, mayor of Gasconade, reported Sunday that equipment failure was the cause for the Missouri River community having been unable to clear snow from city streets.

KSDK television in St. Louis reported an actual low temperature recorded at the National Weather Service recording station north of Rosebud at minus-20 degrees on Monday morning. A wind chill index listed for the region was 20 to 30-degrees below zero.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports responding to 412 calls for service across the state as of 3 p.m. Saturday with 54 stranded motorists assisted and 63 minor crashes investigated. There were 11 injuries and one non-weather related fatality.

Record snowfall was reported in the Ste. Genevieve and Fredericktown ares southeast of Gasconade County with over a foot of powdery snow reported in Ste. Genevieve and Madison counties. Cold weather is expected to continue through the weekend.