PEORIA, Ill. — An early morning South Peoria fire on Friday led to the demolishing of a house.
The Peoria Fire Department was called around 6:00 to a home in the 1500 block of W. Widenham.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and a vibrant blaze upon entry.
Because of the scope of the fire combined with significant winds, crews had to use attack lines to keep the fire contained to just the engulfed home.
“The very front of the house — the porch and the front room — was heavily involved,” said Battalion Chief Steve Rada.
“Actually, the flames were coming out of it and started to impinge upon the house next door.”
He said the was inhabitable, though no one was living in it at the time, but neighboring homes had cars in the driveways, indicating other people were at risk.
Rada said while the fire was successfully kept at bay, it spread to the attic, and burned a significant portion of the roof off.
“[The house] was at risk of actually collapsing,” he said, “and obviously we don’t want anybody in the public getting hurt or being around a structure that’s unsafe.”
Once the fire was extinguished, a Peoria building inspector ordered the house be demolished.
The cause of the fire was being investigated.
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