Missouri man loses job, house in one week

CASS COUNTY, MO (KCTV) - Crews spent almost five hours battling a fire that fully engulfed a home in rural Harrisonville on Thursday.

By 10 p.m. what was left of the house was smoldering. It's now down to its foundation.

The distraught homeowner arrived some hours later. Jim Burch said he lost his job earlier in the week, and had gone to pick up his last paycheck. When he came home, his home was destroyed.

Burch said his shih tzu, his daughter's dog, and two cats died in the fire.

"It's hard to know what to think," Burch said. "You're kind of in shock. You start realizing all your records and pictures and heirlooms are just gone, and there's now way to get them back."

Burch's house is at East 299th Street and South Hess Road in Cass County. It's just west of Interstate 49.

The Cass County Sheriff's Office says a neighbor called in the fire. The homeowner wasn't there when the fire broke out, and officials contacted him to let him know what had happened.

There was so much fire. We really couldn't get ahead of it, said Harrisonville fire Capt. Johnny Coday.

Central Cass Fire Protection District worked to extinguish the flames which were seen shooting from every inch of the home. Two to three mutual aid companies were also on the scene to help.

The home was fully involved. The front part had already collapsed into the basement, Coday said.

More here:
Missouri man loses job, house in one week