Four Die in DeSoto House Fire

(Desoto, MO) 

Four adults are dead after a fatal house fire that occurred just after 2 a.m. Sunday morning in Desoto. The Public Information Officer for the Desoto Rural Fire Protection District, John Scullin, said in a post on the Department's facebook page at 2:08 am, the Desoto Rural Fire Protection District, and many other departments, were dispatched to the 500 block of Vineland School Road for a house fire with residents trapped inside. Crews were on the scene four minutes after dispatch and immediately rendered aid to the two victims that were outside. Those patients were transported to local hospitals. Fire suppression resumed, and after completing searches, it was determined four victims were not able to escape. The four who died in the fire are 76 year old Joe Detter and his 74 year old wife Frances Detter, their 37 year old daughter Sherri Detter, and their 18 year old granddaughter Kari Detter. The two younger women's boyfriends were able to jump from a second story window to safety however they did receive serious burns and were taken to St. Louis burn centers for treatment. One of the men was the person who first reported the blaze. Officials with the Desoto Rural Fire Protection District, Jefferson County Sheriffs Department, and the Missouri State Fire Marshall’s office are investigating the incident.