OWENSVILLE — Cause of an early-morning fire Wednesday at a vacant residential structure at the corner of Springfield and Marvin in Owensville was “undetermined,” according to Owensville Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Arnold.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office had an investigator at the scene of the fire reported at 2:20 a.m. May 13 in the 500 block of Springfield Road. Owensville firemen were on the scene within four minutes according to the fire district’s report and found the two-story structure 25 percent involved.

“Fire spread quickly throughout the residence as units began arriving on scene,” the fire district’s report noted. Firemen from the surrounding agencies responded to assist and after an “aggressive exterior attack” the fire was under control within an hour.

Providing mutual aid responses were members of the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District, Belle Fire Protection District, Cuba Fire Protection District, Gerald-Rosebud Fire Protection District and the Sullivan Fire Protection District.

Firemen spent about two-and-a-half hours conducting an overhaul. One fireman suffered a minor injury and was treated on scene.

Although the residence was vacant, Arnold said investigators were told people have been witnessed coming in and out of the building over the years but no one could say if anyone had been in there recently. The woman who owned the residence had died and her daughter is from the St. Louis area, said Arnold.

Owensville Fire Protection District volunteers were then toned out around 11:20 a.m. Wednesday for a structure fire in the 2000 block of Hog Trough Road and the first units on the scene arrived to find a fully engulfed two-story brick and concrete structure. No utilities were connected to the residence.

The Hog Trough Road residence was where Gasconade County deputies on Monday discovered Ronald Groff  deceased inside. He had not been observed since the prior Friday and was known to have declining health issues, according to Arnold. No autopsy was planned and there was nothing suspicious about his demise.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the scene that afternoon and Arnold said the preliminary cause is “undetermined.” There is a working theory the fire may have started from a “possible discarded smoking material.”

Arnold said they believe fire originated in a back porch area. Investigators spoke with a family member of the deceased who told them there were people who had permission to be on the property removing belongings from the residence where Groff had been living.

Assisting Owensville firemen at the scene were crews from Bourbon, Sullivan, Hermann, Beaufort-Leslie, Gerald-Rosebud. Water was shuttled by tankers from a hydrant at Highway 19 and East Madison Avenue in town south toward the Bem community and Hog Trough.

As firemen began wrapping up at that scene, a tree trimmer became entrapped in a fully-extended lift bucket while working behind a residence on Highway 19 near Price Road. Firemen from the Sullivan Ladder 8 crew and units from Beaufort-Leslie and Gerald-Rosebud left Hog Trough and responded to the entrapment call.

A crew from the Washington Fire Department, which had responded to town to extinguish rekindled hot spots at the Springfield Road fire and to staff Owensville’s station, joined them.

Within about 10 minutes, the trapped tree trimmer was safely down the Sullivan ladder which was extended to take him off the bucket.

“That’s why we have mutual aid,” said Arnold in appreciation for the agencies which sent manpower to assist with the calls. “Washington was providing coverage for the Owensville (fire) house and sent an engine to the Springfield Road rekindle and then responded to the technical rescue.”