Two vacant homes in the 500 block of North Locust in Centralia burned in an early morning fire. Centralia City Firemen say the fire had begun to spread to a third occupied home, but they were able to knock it down before it caused any damage to the inside of that residence.
Centralia firemen say one vacant home was fully engulfed upon their arrival and had begun spreading to a second vacant home that had been damaged in an earlier fire. The resident of the occupied home got out safely with her animals. Damage was confined to melting siding on the home.
Firemen say all of the story-and-a-half homes were within 10 feet of each other, just separated by driveways.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal was called to investigate the cause of the fire, which is currently listed as suspicious.
The fire call came in at 1:30 Saturday morning, with firemen on the scene for four hours. Centralia District, Sandoval, Kell, and Odin Firemen all provided mutual aid on the scene. Lifestar Ambulance also stood by, but no injuries were reported.
The remains of one of the homes after the fire was put out in the 500 block of North Locust in Centralia. Photo by Tim Ferguson.
Firemen use an aerial attack on the vacant house fires on North Locust Street Saturday morning. Photo by Tim Ferguson.
