Danville Fire Dept. battles two house fires early Thursday morning
DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) — One home was destroyed and another was damaged in a pair of Danville fires early Thursday morning.
The fires started about an hour apart, Danville Fire officials said. The first started at 4:50 a.m. on Kentucky Avenue and while firefighters were still on the scene, the second fire started at 5:53 a.m. on Griggs Street.
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The fire on Kentucky Avenue is believed to have started as a result of a wood-burning stove, officials said. Although there were no working smoke detectors in the home, the person living there was able to escape after smelling smoke and calling 911. Firefighters arrived to find a large amount of smoke coming from the home, with flames in the wall and attic.
While firefighters were on Kentucky Avenue battling that fire, they received a report of another fire on Griggs Street. Officials said a unit that was on Kentucky Avenue was sent to the other fire and they found a large fire in the rear of the home.
The Danville Police Department assisted on Griggs Street by knocking on the doors of nearby homes and evacuating them as a precaution. Officials said neighbors told officers that squatters would come and go from the house on fire, so firefighters performed a quick search of the first floor before being driven out by high heat and smoke conditions.
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Further searches as conditions would allow revealed no one inside the burning home. The home was deemed a total loss once the fire was extinguished. The cause is under investigation.
The person living on Kentucky Avenue was already receiving assistance from the American Red Cross by the time firefighters left the scene at 7 a.m. Firefighters left Griggs Street at 9:43 a.m.
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