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DECATUR, Ill. — A tragic house fire in Decatur on Tuesday night resulted in the death of a dog and left two people hospitalized.
The blaze erupted shortly before 9 p.m. near Decatur Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. According to Decatur Fire Chief Neil Elder, firefighters were alerted by multiple reports of the fire, with some callers mentioning that individuals might have leaped from the second story of the building.
Upon arrival, firefighters confirmed the distressing scene. Chief Elder reported, “Battalion 1 arrived to discover a two-story home engulfed in flames at the front of the structure. Two residents had managed to escape by jumping from second-floor windows. Multiple AMR ambulances were promptly on site to provide medical attention.”
In related news, two people were displaced after a fire over the weekend in Athens, which may have left their home irreparably damaged.
The first engine company that arrived made an aggressive attack through the front door while a truck company cut a hole in the roof for ventilation. Other crews assisted with water supply and stretching additional handlines.
“Conditions deteriorated and crews were backed out of the building. The Truck Company used their aerial master stream to knock down the fire,” Elder said. “Once conditions improved, crews went back into the structure to fully extinguish any remaining hot spots.”
Both occupants of the home were transported to the hospital; Elder did not have any word on their current conditions. In addition, a dog was found deceased inside the home.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Decatur Fire Department’s Investigation Division.