A Wednesday evening fire in rural Chana destroyed a home and killed a pet, Oregon Fire Protection District Chief Michael Knoup said.
Oregon firefighters, the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office and numerous other area fire companies were called at 5:23 p.m. to a structure fire in the 8300 block of East Brick Road in Chana.
Knoup said he was first on scene and arrived to heavy fire in the garage, with flames penetrating to the living area of the home and coming out of the roof. The call was elevated to the second-alarm level due to smoke that could be seen from a mile away.
“The address on Brick Road is one of our farther addresses that we cover,” Knoup said, adding that the distance creates a response time of 12 to 15 minutes. “We had personnel at the station available and ready to respond when the call came in. We had a rural water supply and the first hose attack was made through the front door. The fire was in the attic space making its way from one end of the home to the other. We pulled down the ceiling to put a stop to it. The fire was in the garage, kitchen and attic. Fire did not make it to the bedrooms. We did have to pull the ceiling in every room.”
Knoup said there were two people home at the time of the fire. Three people live at the residence and one was not home at the time. One resident was evaluated for smoke inhalation but was not transported to the hospital. One dog perished in the fire and another is missing.
The state fire marshal responded to the scene and ruled the fire accidental, Knoup said.
“The preliminary investigation found that a resident was cooking food on the stove and burned it and took it to the garage and put it in a garbage can and the fire started from there,” Knoup said. “A resident noticed the fire in the garage and made an unsuccessful attempt to extinguish it and called 911.”
The home and its contents are considered to be a total loss, Knoup said, with a total value likely to be around $450,000.
Along with OFPD and the Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, responding organizations included Stillman Fire, Rochelle Fire, Mt. Morris Fire, Leaf River Fire, Lynn-Scott-Rock Fire, Byron Fire, Polo Fire/EMS, Monroe Center Fire, Dixon City Fire, Pecatonica Fire, Steward Fire, Franklin Grove Fire, Dixon Rural Fire, Milledgeville Fire and MD-1.
“Mutual aid is crucial,” Knoup said. “All the smaller communities in Ogle County work together in situations like this. We all have small staff and without extra response, none of our departments would be able to function.”
Knoup said the location being rural with no access to fire hydrants made the response “a little more difficult”, but not out of the norm for his district. No water shortage was seen. Putting out the fire initially took about 40 minutes and 1,000 gallons of water; first responders were on scene for another two hours to ensure the fire was completely out and to finish overhaul work. A total of about 3,000 gallons of water was used, he said.
Knoup said he was extremely grateful there were no injuries to residents or firefighters and that the residents called 911 and exited the home.
“Minutes make a huge difference on fire calls,” Knoup said. “It’s important that the resident noticed the fire and called 911 immediately, especially in a rural area with a 12- to 15-minute response time from the station.”