DOVER - The cause of a fire that destroyed a farmhouse Tuesday and displaced its elderly residents has been ruled accidental in nature and electrical in cause, a fire investigator confirmed Wednesday.

Kansasville and Union Grove firefighters were dispatched at 4:54 p.m. Tuesday to what was initially reported as a stove fire at the remote, off-road residence in the 2200 block of English Settlement Avenue (Highway J). The fire scene is located between Ketterhagen Road and Highway 11.

The fire ended up being a full-fledged structure fire with flames coming through the roof at one point, said Kansasville Fire Chief Jeff Bratz. Help was quickly requested from the Rochester Fire Co. and the city and town of Burlington fire departments. Tanker trucks were refilled at Fischer Park on Browns Lake in the Town of Burlington, Bratz said.

Two firefighters received minor injuries during the fire, Bratz said. One was injured in a fall and the other was sprayed in the eye by a hose stream. Both were treated and released at local hospitals. But the residents, a 91-year-old man and his 87-year-old sister, were not injured.

Bill Pieters, an investigator with the Racine County Fire Investigation Task Force, said the siblings were outside at the time the fire was discovered. As there is no phone at the house, the woman walked to the end of the nearly quarter-mile driveway to flag down passing motorists for help. That added to the time in getting fire crews to the scene, Pieters said.

"It took a couple of hours (to bring under control). It was tough," Bratz said. "The guys did a good job of stopping it."

No other buildings at the homestead were affected, Bratz said.

Pieters said investigators traced the origin of the fire to a first-floor bedroom in the house, which was built in 1953. Several electrical appliances were found in that room, but investigators could not pinpoint which appliance may have been the actual cause. Pieters said the home is considered a total loss and Bratz said the home has been boarded up.

The siblings are receiving help from neighbors, Pieters said.

Also assisting at the fire scene Tuesday were the Racine County Sheriff's Department, the Racine Fire Bells and Medix Ambulance Service.