A garage fire on Nov. 12 swept through a home in Herculaneum, Missouri, spreading to a neighbor's house before crews contained it in about an hour. No people were injured, but three of the family's cats died and two remain missing. While combing the rubble, the homeowners recovered wedding rings and photo albums they described as "miraculous" survivors. Authorities are still investigating the fire, and the family faces recovery and rebuilding.
Missouri Couple Finds 'Miraculous' Wedding Keepsakes After Devastating House Fire
A garage fire on Nov. 12 swept through a home in Herculaneum, Missouri, spreading to a neighbor's house before crews contained it in about an hour. No people were injured, but three of the family's cats died and two remain missing. While combing the rubble, the homeowners recovered wedding rings and photo albums they described as "miraculous" survivors. Authorities are still investigating the fire, and the family faces recovery and rebuilding.
06:24 AM, 11/20/2025Society
On the morning of Nov. 12, a garage fire erupted at a home on the 100 block of Hammond Drive in Herculaneum, Missouri. The blaze spread into the rest of the residence and a neighboring house before firefighters brought it under control in roughly an hour. No residents were reported injured, officials said.
Herculaneum Fire Chief Kevin Baker confirmed that, tragically, three of the family's cats died in the fire and two remain missing. The cause of the garage fire is still under investigation.
Keepsakes survive amid the rubble
As they sifted through the charred remains of their home, Danielle Blankenship and her husband discovered a few treasured items that survived the flames: their wedding rings and several photo albums. The small finds offered the couple some comfort amid a scene of widespread destruction.
“We were lucky,” Blankenship said. “We found our wedding rings, our photo albums … it’s really been miraculous what things have survived. Because when you look at this, it looks like nothing. It looks like there would be absolutely nothing.”
Blankenship added that people had attempted to take belongings left at the damaged property, a development she described as “putting salt in wounds.” Neighbors and local responders have provided assistance while the family begins to recover.
Investigators continue working to determine how the fire started. In the meantime, the couple and their neighbors are focused on rebuilding and accounting for both sentimental and material losses.