An overnight fire left a Bella Vista home in ruins Thursday (April 24). The homeowner and her cat escaped without injury, according to Battalion Chief Terry Whiteside.
Firefighters responded to a house fire at 128 Leicester Drive about 12:30 a.m. Only the front brick walls are left from the fire. The windows are blown out and the house is in shambles.
Whiteside said the house was engulfed when crews arrived.
According to dispatchers, multiple structures were threatened when the house started burning. However, crews were able to keep the fire from spreading.
"Embers from that fire were blowing on another street and people were concerned embers were getting on their roof," Whiteside said. "We had to go check that and make sure that wasn't going to catch anything on fire."
However, that wasn't all fire crews had to deal with.
"We had a brush fire behind the residence that burned, we had to contain that," Whiteside said. "There was a whole lot going on with not a lot of manpower available."
Authorities said the scene is being cleared as of 4 a.m. The woman is expected to stay with friends or relatives, according to the fire department.