ROGERS — Firefighters worked through the night Tuesday to salvage belongings and put out hot spots from a fire that destroyed a house in the Pinnacle Country Club gated community.
No one was injured.
The home at 12 Pinnacle Drive was a total loss, said Fire Chief Tom Jenkins. The damage is estimated at $1.5 million.
“It’s a big fire for us,” Jenkins said.
The first 911 call was at 8:50 p.m.
A smoke detector woke a sleeping resident, and a neighbor called firefighters after the family of four ran across the street, Jenkins said. By the time the family left the house, the roof was in flames.
“Working smoke detectors are a necessity,” he said.
According to Benton County property records, the 5,572-square-foot home was built in 1994 and was purchased by John and Dana Lawrence in June.
Part of the difficulty in putting out the fire stemmed from the size of the home’s attic space, Jenkins said. In a smaller house, once firefighters punched through the attic wall they would have been able to see most of the area. Because of the size and shape of the attic in this house, there were places for fire to hide.
“This is a mansion,” Jenkins said.
The fire was likely smoldering somewhere in the attic space for hours, Jenkins said. Sparks from the fireplace likely got caught in the attic and started the fire.
“Chimney fires are notorious for this sort of problem,” he said.
It is, however, unusual for a chimney fire to claim an entire house, Jenkins said.
The family built a fire in the fireplace Tuesday, then put it out before leaving home. When they returned, there was a “campfire” smell, and they had electrical problems in the room, Jenkins said.
Off-duty firefighters were called in, and Bentonville and Springdale firefighters manned Rogers stations. Two ladder trucks, six pumper trucks and 40 Rogers firefighters were also on the scene.