Both people inside a house that caught fire in Charleston Saturday were able to safely evacuate prior to the arrival of firefighters, according to Charleston Fire Chief Tim Meister.
The Charleston Fire Department was dispatched to 1007 Douglas St. at 1:07 p.m. for a reported structure fire. While en route, Charleston firefighters requested a box alarm activation as they could see a header of smoke coming from the fire, according to radio traffic.
“When crews arrived on the scene, they noticed heavy fire through the roof in the backside of the house where the patio area was,” Meister said. “They did have two occupants that were inside at the time of the fire, and they were able to evacuate prior to our arrival.”
The occupants also evacuated several pets, he said.
According to Meister, officials activated a box alarm to the second level in order to bring additional support to the fire scene, including activating several off-duty Charleston firefighters.
“Crews from Mattoon will come over also, and Lincoln Fire Protection District will stand by at their station, covering the rest of the city if there’s any other emergencies in town,” Meister said.
Firefighters deployed multiple water lines and used an aerial ladder to put water on the fire. By about 3 p.m., fire conditions had visibly improved, though firefighters continued spraying water. Crews remained on the scene past 5 p.m.
Meister confirmed that no firefighters were injured at the scene.
The Charleston Fire Department is still investigating the cause of the fire.
“We’ve already taken pictures of the scene, we did interviews and we’ve just got some more paperwork that we have to do when we get back to the office,” Meister said.
Meister said the city will contact the Red Cross in order to assist the affected residents.
“Red Cross will assist them with furnishing them some funding to help them with the things they lost, lodging, clothes [and] that sort of thing,” Meister said.
T.J. Seputis can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
