Emergency crews responded to an overnight house fire near Perry Friday, but were unable to prevent the house from being a total loss.

Just after midnight, the Perry Police Department received a call from the Boone County Sheriff’s Office requesting aid at 2024 Clover Avenue for a house fire. The house has a Perry address, but is located in Boone County. The dispatchers said the house was fully engulfed, and they were worried about nearby vehicles and a liquid petroleum tank. According to the incident report, when the Perry Fire Department arrived on scene, the structure had already collapsed into the basement. Firefighters were unsure if there was anyone still inside, so they fought it as best as they could from the north side.

Eventually, the owner of the house, Ron Mulder, arrived and informed crews that neither he nor anyone else was inside the residence at the time of the fire. Because of the advanced stage of the fire, nearly six-inches of snow on the ground and more falling, and no nearby structures in danger, firefighters made the decision to simply allow the fire to burn itself out.

The cause of the fire was attributed to an unattended fire in the fireplace. No one was injured in the incident. Four fire trucks and ten members of the Perry Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire.