House fire destroys Port St. Joe home
A house fire broke out at the corner of Palm Boulevard and 18th Street around 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The house was declared a total loss not long afterwards.
According to a Facebook post from the Port St. Joe Police Department, no injuries were reported at the scene.
The family are accepting donations via Venmo at this time. Those who wish to help are encouraged to send donations to @chloefocht.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unconfirmed.
Preliminary reports suggest that the fire was caused by an overheated light in a chicken coop that then spread to the house, but authorities have not verified this theory.
The PSJPD announced Wednesday evening that a fire marshal was at the scene investigating.
This report will be updated as more information is made available.
Meet the Editor
Wendy Weitzel, The Star’s digital editor, joined the news outlet in August 2021, as a reporter covering primarily Gulf County.
Prior to then, she interned for Oklahoma-based news wire service Gaylord News and for Oklahoma City-based online newspaper NonDoc.com during her four years at the University of Oklahoma, from which she graduated in May with degrees in online journalism and political science.
While at OU, Weitzel was selected as Carnegie-Knight News21 Investigative Fellow among 30 top journalism students from around the country. She also was senior editor managing a 12-person newsroom in coordination with Oklahoma Watch, a non-profit news organization in eastern Oklahoma.