By Drew Smith, Herald Democrat

Denison Fire Rescue officials said no one was injured Thursday after a home caught fire in the 500 block of Dean Drive.


Chief Gregg Loyd said crews were dispatched to the single-story home shortly before 1 p.m. upon receiving reports that smoke was coming from the roof of the residence. Loyd said all four of the occupants who were home when the fire broke out were able get out safely, but two cats remained unaccounted for, as of Thursday afternoon.


“After a 360 (degree rotation) around the house, crews determined that the fire was located in the proximity of the garage,” Loyd said. “So they tried to gain access to that and found out that in fact it had smoked up the attic due to a hatch being open.”


Loyd said the interior of the garage was heavily damaged by heat rather than flames and that the attic and half of the home’s living area sustained smoke damage. Crews extinguished the fire within roughly 20 minutes, Loyd said, but also focused on the neighboring home, which was downwind.


“The windy conditions caused us to stay very vigilant on the house next door,” Loyd said. “Luckily, it was confined to that small fire and we got to it quick enough.”


But as crews worked to extinguish the structure fire, they were notified of a second fire several miles to the south.


“We did have another fire over on Fannin Road — a grass fire — that came in as we were fighting this one,” Loyd said. “So, Sherman (Fire-Rescue) got dispatched to that one and then we bused over some of our units to go take care of that one too.”


No homes were damaged in the grass fire and no injuries were reported.


Loyd said electricity was shut off to the home on Dean Drive as a result of the fire and the family would be assisted by the American Red Cross. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.