Firefighters battle fire and rain Monday in Reynolds

A fire Monday destroyed a house in Reynolds. No one was injured in the blaze.

Marty Gray, chief of the Reynolds Fire Protection District, said the department responded to the Arden McBride residence, 603 W. Lincoln St., at 7:30 p.m.

"We arrived and the house had heavy smoke," Gray said. "We quickly realized the roof line was burning and we had fire in the basement also."

No one was inside at the time smoke was noticed by McBride, who called in the alarm. His wife also lives at the residence. Her name was not immediately available.

Firefighters from Aledo, Andalusia and Coyne Center responded to the mutual aid call.

"Hats off to those guys," the chief said. "Everybody did a good job working together."

Heavy rain was falling as firefighters arrived.

"It was difficult circumstances," Gray said, adding while the rain caused some problems, "Actually, the rain was in our favor."

Reynolds firefighters cleared the scene at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Gray said a lengthy search for an excavator caused a delay. The machine and an operator arrived to clear hot spots at about 1 p.m. Tuesday.

An exact cause of the fire has not been determined.

"They (the residents) suspect lightning," he said. "The fire marshal couldn't determine that."