Fire destroys Patterson home; three children escape unharmed

A fire destroyed a Patterson home Sunday, but three children were able to escape the home unharmed. And no one was injured in the fire, Patterson Fire Chief Scott Domingue said.

Firefighters responded at 11:07 a.m. Sunday to a fire at a home in the 100 block of Lincoln Drive near Patterson, just west of Patterson High School.

Domingue lives near where the fire occurred and got on scene quickly, he said.

Upon arrival, the home was fully involved with flames, Domingue said.

The Patterson Volunteer requested “additional manpower” and got help from firefighters with the Bayou Vista, Berwick and Centerville fire departments. Firefighters fought the fire for 45 minutes before they could get the fire under control, Domingue said.

Firefighters spent a total of 2 1/2 hours on scene.

A neighbor was able to help three children get out of the home before firefighters arrived, Domingue said. The oldest child, a 13-year-old had, been watching the other two in the home. No adults were home when the fire started because the children’s mother was working, Domingue said.

Domingue classified the damage to the home as a “total loss,” but no one was injured. The fire is believed to have possibly begun in the back of the home, and an electrical issue may have caused the fire, Domingue said.

“It was so destroyed you couldn’t tell where (it started),” he said.

The children in the home had all been sleeping when the fire began. And when they smelled smoke and saw the fire, they exited the house, he said.