Fire Destroys Lake Saint Louis Home Late Monday

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a home located at 14 Bayside Ct. may be a total loss after a fire Monday night. Although still under investigation, the fire appeared to have started in an upstairs bedroom where several electronic devices were plugged in. The owner was not at home, and neighbors called 911.

One of those neighbors, Kathleen Saunders, who lives across the cul-de-sac, spoke with Lake Saint Louis Patch about the fire. She and her husband noticed the fire at 11:30 p.m. Monday. "The top of the roof was ablaze," she said. Two firetrucks were in front of the house with ladders extended, and another was parked in the subdivision behind the house. Ambulances set up in a yard nearby with equipment and water for the firefighters.

"They're pretty sure it started in an electrical socket upstairs," Saunders said. "I've never seen anything like it. It was good that the wind wasn't blowing." The fire was so hot, it melted the siding of the house next door.

The owner was not at home. "Until recently," Saunders said, "the owner's disabled brother was living there, too. And he often listened to music with headphones on. He moved out last week. It gives me goosebumps."

The home's owner is living in a hotel and plans to move to an apartment temporarily.