PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria firefighters and paramedics responded to a working fire early Sunday morning in the area of W. Howett and W. Millman Streets.
Battalion Chief Josh Maroney said crews arrived on the scene just after 5:15 a.m., finding heavy smoke and flames coming from the back and sides of a two-and-a-half-story house, with the flames already spreading to a home next door.
The fire department’s interior attack was complicated by dangerous hoarder conditions and the stairs leading to the second floor of the main house already burned through and collapsed.
Maroney said the fire had also spread into the second floor of the second home, which additional crews put out quickly. A truck company had to cut a ventilation hole on the roof of the first house to release heat and smoke.
Firefighters knocked down the bulk of the fire within 45 minutes, but extensive overhaul efforts, including finding and extinguishing lingering fire, lasted for over two hours.
A search of both houses confirmed they were vacant. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.
Damage to both homes is estimated at $150,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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