Beeville Volunteer Fire Department and insurance company investigators have no idea what caused a house fire at 2068 Smith Lane in the early morning hours last Thursday morning.

Bee County Fire Marshal Ken Orrell said the home was far too damaged to determine the cause.

“And the insurance people said the same thing,” Orrell reported this week.

Fire Chief Donald C. Morris said the owner of the house, Iona Hester, was unable to call for help at first and by the time firemen arrived at the scene it was too late to save the house or a vehicle parked there.

Morris said he was at the scene on Smith Lane, off FM Road 351 near the Veterans Memorial Park entrance, just minutes after the alarm was sounded.

“The house was completely involved when I drove up on the scene,” Morris said, “and the vehicle too.”

The chief said the woman told firemen that she had gotten out of bed at about 1:30 a.m. to get a drink of water and had gone right back to bed.

She awoke a short time later when she heard glass breaking and realized the house was full of smoke.

Although she managed to get her phone out of the house with her, it was a house phone and the fire apparently had already destroyed the line. She told firemen that she got to a neighbor’s house but she was unable to awaken them.

Three fire trucks responded to the alarm and 15 firemen were at the scene. Also, three police officers arrived to offer assistance and control traffic.

Morris said firemen from Beeville also responded to a mutual aid request at a house fire at 319 N. Mays St. in Pettus at about 1:07 p.m. Saturday.

The wood frame house was owned by a Beeville woman but was unoccupied.

That house also was destroyed, Morris said.

Firemen were unsure of the cause of that fire too, Morris said. It was possible that kids could have been playing in the house just before the fire was reported.