Cause of Massive Nixa House Fire May Never be Known

NIXA, Mo. -- The cause of a massive house fire in Nixa Sunday night may never be known.

Asst. Fire Chief Whitney Weaver says due to the extensive damage to the 5,000 square-foot home, there is not enough evidence to lead the department to a definitive cause.

Crews from seven departments responded to that blaze in the 1800 block of W. Riverdale Road around 9 p.m. Sunday. Because the structure was located down a narrow drive, departments from across Christian and Greene counties were called in with tankers.

"We simply did not have the water available to extinguish the fire," writes Weaver in a news release.

He adds that the drought and high temperatures caused the fire to spread even quicker than normal.

"We calculate that a fire of this size would need over 2,000 gallons of water per minute to extinguish. Although we had almost a dozen mutual aid fire tankers responding (over 20,000 gallons), due to the long and narrow drive we were not able to get the water needed to the house in an efficient manner."

More than 40 firefighters were on the scene through the overnight hours. One firefighter had to be treated for heat exhaustion.

The family made it out safely and is now being helped by the American Red Cross.

"There was a delay in contacting 911 when the homeowner made several attempts to save property and pets," adds Weaver. "The exterior of the home and much of the interior wall coverings were constructed of natural wood products."

The Nixa Fire Protection District continues to investigate.