On May 8 at about 12:50 a.m. the Stearn’s County Sheriff’s Department and the St. Joseph Fire Department were dispatched to a house fire about two miles north of St. Joseph in the Pleasant Acres area near Watab Lake. Dean and Joan Holtz were in the house at the time of the fire but they and their dogs escaped without injuries. The fire is believed to have started in the kitchen area. The St. Stephen Fire Department and Gold Cross Ambulance responded to assist the St Joseph Fire Department. The fire is still under investigation.