UPDATED 9:24 a.m. 1/20/24
ROME, Ill. – A fire has destroyed a longtime autobody business near Chillicothe.
Crews from five departments fought the blaze in the bitter cold starting prior to 4:00 p.m. Friday at A-Plus Autobody in Rome. The building is a total loss and is expected to be demolished.
Chillicothe Assistant Fire Chief Jim Benisch says the fire is believed to be an accident, but an investigation continues.
“At a major loss of this (magnitude), it’s my practice to bring in the professionals and the (Illinois State) Fire Marshal,” said Benisch. “He’s with the owner now (Friday night), and they’re talking about it. [The Fire Marshal] can do all the reports.”
No one was hurt and people inside evacuated safely.
Route 29 was closed for a time, because water hoses had to be stretched across the street and across some railroad tracks to help put the blaze out.
And that wasn’t the only problem crews from five departments had to deal with.
“The cold weather was a challenge,” said Benisch. “Another challenge was that it was a metal structure versus a wood structure. The fire was contained to the inside.”
Benisch says some windows ended up being knocked out to help fight the fire, which worked, but caused parts of the metal structure to eventually collapse. The remainder of the structure will have to be demolished, Benisch said.
While the cold weather presented a challenge in terms of firefighters slipping and falling on ice, that was helped by salt they and Chillicothe officials laid down in the area. Otherwise…
“We don’t get cold until the excitement is over,” said Benisch. When it was time to take a break, “We have wonderful people across the street (Route 29 and East Knox Street, at a Shell station). The gas station opened up their coffee, Precision Collision is feeding us hot chocolate and pizza. A pizza place up in Chillicothe donated some pizzas. We just deal with (the cold). That’s what we do.”
Otherwise, Benich says firefighters simply dress appropriately and have extra gloves, and the community always helps out with the rest. A WInd Chill Advisory for the area continues until 12pm Saturday, but more cold weather is on the way before a respite.
Benisch says despite the challenges, and partly because of community support, “At the end of the day, I think we’re all going to go home safe.”
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UPDATED 4:45 p.m.
ROME, Ill. – An auto body shop near Chillicothe is on fire.
The Peoria County Sheriff’s Department has closed Route 29 at Knox Street, south of Three Sisters Park due to a fire at A-Plus Automotive in Rome.
Railroad tracks nearby are also closed to traffic due to fire hoses on the road. Traffic is being diverted to surrounding residential areas.
Multiple fire departments from the area are on the scene.
No word on injuries or the cause of the fire yet.
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ROME, Ill. – An autobody shop near Chillicothe is on fire.
The Peoria County Sheriffs Department has closed Route 29 at Knox Street, south of Three Sisters Park due to a fire at A-Plus Automotive in Rome.
No word on injuries or the cause of the fire just yet.
When we get more details, we’ll bring them to you here, and on our website.
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