A fire destroyed a Decatur basement and claimed the lives of two pets, firefighters say.
The basement of a home in the 2300 block of Hawthorne Drive is considered a total loss, crews say. They responded to the scene at about 6:14 p.m. and contained flames to the basement area in about 10 minutes.
Responders say they tried to resuscitate a dog and cat but were unable to save them. A second dog in the home has not been found. The upstairs took smoke damage and minor heat damage. Damage is estimated to be $43,000 to the building and another $30,000 to contents.
Firefighters cleared the scene after 8 p.m.