Fire destroyed a large residential structure in the 2800 block of East Jefferson Street in Cravat in northwestern Jefferson County Saturday night.
Irvington Fire Chief Andy McDaniel says flames were visible from the residential portion of the structure with smoke coming from the eves of the attached sanctuary. Due to the amount of involvement and structural design, crews struggled to bring the fire under control.
The property owner Andrea Cisco reported the approximately 15 individuals residing in the main structure were able to escape from the fire, with one receiving a non-life threatening leg injury. The injured person was later transferred by private vehicle to the hospital for treatment. Three dogs that could not be reached perished in the fire.
McDaniel says it is his understanding there were nine adults and two children that Cisco was caring for in the residence. He reports the home was about 20 years old with an upper story and basement, with the sanctuary added later.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal will be on the scene Monday to investigate the cause of the fire.
McDaniel says the department was delayed in receiving the call by the 911 telecommunicators in Washington County dispatching the Ashley Fire Department instead of Irvington. Seven minutes later the mistake was corrected and Irvington Fire was dispatched. McDaniel says between the delay in getting the call and the lengthy travel time to Cravat the fire had a big head start. Initially, McDaniel believed a call had not immediately been placed to call the fire department.
The alarm was received at 6:57 Saturday night with Irvington Fire clearing the scene at approximately 1:30 Sunday morning.
Irvington called seven other fire departments for mutual aid. They were the Ashley, Centralia City, and Centralia Fire Protection Districts, Hoyleton, Jefferson Frie as well as the Kell and Woodlawn Fire Protection Districts. In addition, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Litton’s Ambulance Service, Tri-County Electric, and the Red Cross assisted at the scene.
This story has been updated with new information about the delay in Irvington Firemen receiving the initial fire alarm.
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- Firefighters fight fire at Cravat home Saturday night.
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- Water was hauled to the scene by several of the seven departments called for mutual aid assistance.
