Mitchell firefighters responded to a house fire on Monday afternoon.

At approximately 3 PM, fire crews responded to the report of smoke showing at 715 West 4th Avenue.  Firefighters arrived to find a two-story single family residence with heavy smoke showing from multiple floors of the building.  Fire crews were able to enter through the front door and found the seat of the fire located in the kitchen area.  Occupants of the home were not there at the time of the fire.  However, two family pets were found deceased in the home.  Fire crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly keeping it from spreading throughout the home.  The residence sustained heavy fire damage to the kitchen area, while heat and smoke damage were noted throughout the rest of the home.  No other injuries were sustained.

The origin of the fire was located in the kitchen area in and around the stove.  The exact cause will remain undetermined, but it appears to be accidental in nature.

The residence has been turned back over to the owner, and any further investigation by the fire department is complete.

The Mitchell Fire Department would like to remind everyone to make sure that their smoke alarms are working correctly and are located on every floor and in each sleeping room.