Overnight fire destroys a Collinsville home and sends its 69-year-old owner to the hospital with burns

A house fire in Collinsville early Thursday left a 69-year-old man hospitalized with serious burns and his home a total loss, according to the Collinsville Fire Department.

Firefighters were called at about 2:23 a.m. to the house, on the 1500 block of Spring Creek Road, KTEN reported. Collinsville Fire Chief Damon Stewart told KXII that the homeowner reported the fire himself, and that the house was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Only the man and his dog were home, according to KXII. He was taken to a hospital with several severe burns to his extremities, and the station said there was no update on his condition. Stewart said the dog went to a local veterinarian.

Neighbors gave KTEN more detail on the escape. They said the dog roused the homeowner from sleep and warned him of the flames, and one neighbor said the man crawled out of the house.

Help from three other departments

KXII reported that Collinsville crews spent the hours before dawn getting the flames under control and putting them out. Firefighters from Whitesboro, Indian Creek and North Shore came to help.

The cause remains under investigation, the station reported. Neighbor Randy Clark told KTEN he had spoken with the fire chief, who "felt like it was probably a lightning strike." Clark described lightning lighting up the sky around 2:30 a.m. The fire department had not announced an official cause in either station's report.

Sources

KXII

KTEN