Update: Morning Fire Claims Dog, Causes $200K in Damages

**Updated 8:50 p.m.

A fire that started on the first floor of a home in the 5800 block of Regency Hills Drive claimed the life of the family dog and caused about $200,000 in damages.

There were no injuries to either the family who lived in the house or to firefighters.

South Shore Fire Battalion Chief Jon Keiser confirmed with Patch that the blaze is believed to have started in the kitchen and spread out and up from there.

"The most significant damage was in the kitchen," he said. "But the origin and cause are being determined by investigators still at the scene."

SSFD Battalion Chief Steve Salvo in a written release said the cause of the fire seems to have started with a kitchen appliance.

"An investigation into the cause of the fire revealed that the fire started in the home’s kitchen, and was likely ignited by a household kitchen appliance," he said.

Keiser also confirmed the blaze resulted in the death of the family's dog, but that the family was not home at the time calls came into 911 around 7 a.m. Saturday.

"We were told the family had just left to go to Madison for the Badger game," he said. "But, unfortunately, the family dog did die in the fire."

According to Salvo, the family had been gone from the house for about 30 minutes when they were called back.

According to our friends at Racine Uncovered, Mount Pleasant Police and South Shore Fire responded shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday to calls for a house on fire.

When units arrived, they discovered heavy smoke coming from the second floor, Keiser added.

"Our initial size-up was that the fire was in the center rear of the first floor, but there was heavy smoke at the second floor as well," he said. "Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes."

The second floor of the home did suffer extensive heat and smoke damage. Salvo puts the total damage estimate at about $200,000, split evenly between the structure of the home and the family's belongings.

"The home is uninhabitable, and assistance was being provided to the occupants by the American Red Cross," he noted.

Members of the neighborhood are organizing a collection for the family of clothes and household goods as well as gift cards to area stores and restaurants. Donations can be dropped off at the corner of Emstan and Wood at 11:15 a.m. Monday.