OWENSVILLE — Firefighters from the Owensville Fire Protection District (OFPD) responded to a structure fire at 1:53 p.m. on Oct. 1 located at 112 East Marvin Ave. in Owensville. They had the blaze contained within the hour with assistance from firefighters and trucks from neighboring districts.

Two residents, a woman and her son, were inside the house when the fire began, but were able to immediately exit the structure. Neither sustained any reported injuries. The cause of the fire is still officially undetermined, but an investigation by OFPD suggested an electrical issue in the living room as the most likely cause, according to Fire Chief Jeff Arnold.

Arnold and Owensville police officers were on the scene within four minutes of the emergency call. The first truck arrived about ten minutes after the call, and the blaze was determined to be under control at about 2:35 p.m., said Arnold.

Propane tanks at the back of the property, about 50 feet from the building were immediately shut off when officers arrived, according to Owensville police officers at the scene.

In total, eight local volunteer firefighters and at least 20 others from neighboring districts worked together to contain and extinguish the fire. The departments that assisted were Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District, Belle Fire Protection District, Bland Fire Protection District, Cuba Fire Protection District, Hermann Fire Company, Rosebud-Gerald Fire Protection District and Sullivan Fire Protection District. Sullivan is the only one of those with a paid fire department. All the rest were volunteers, said Arnold.

Local EMS workers were also on the scene. Whenever a firefighter exits a structure, they must have their vitals checked by EMS. No injuries to any of the firefighters were reported, said Arnold.