A house fire in Hastings Tuesday night results in a total loss. 

No one was hurt. The Hastings Fire Chief said a family of four lives there, but they were all
gone at 5 pm. when the fire started. But crews will be on scene until mid-morning.

Smoke was still seeping out of the roof and windows two hours after the fire began. The house, at 611 South Kansas, was being remodeled.

Fire Chief Kent Gilbert said it's a total loss because the main floor collapsed, near the door. 
That also created problems for firefighters.

"It is, for us, because we're used to fighting the fire from the inside out. But when the floor started to collapse, the risk is too great for personnel."

So they're fighting it from the outside-in. The chief said the caved-in floor will also make it more difficult to determine the cause because they have double the rubble to sift through. That job will be up to the fire marshall, who was on his way from Crete. 

Chief Gilbert said this fire took the effort of 30 Hastings fire fighters. Juniata fire fighters were called in to man the Hastings Fire Station.

As for the family, they weren't there when I was, but the chief said they have a place to stay Tuesday night.