The period between Christmas and New Years Day was a busy one for Danville firefighters. Bill Pickett has the story…
First, they spent eleven hours battling a stubborn apartment building fire in the cold weather on Tuesday, December 30th. Then they responded to a residential fire on Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, which left extensive damage.
The apartment building fire at 610 West Seminary Street was reported shortly after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday. First crews on the scene found a well-advanced fire in the basement which was spreading throughout the two-story structure.
The building was not in normal use. Neighbors told Danville Police some squatters had been staying in the building so multiple firefighters advanced lines into the building in search of possible occupants. No victims were found.
One family from a nearby structure was evacuated as firefighters protected that home. A City of Danville bus was brought to the scene to help keep those residents and firefighters warm because of the bitterly cold weather. One firefighter suffered a minor injury.
Preliminary damage estimates from the fire at that apartment building were placed at $40-thousand-500-dollars. The Office of the State Fire Marshal is assisting the Danville Fire Department in trying to determine the cause of the blaze.
Meanwhile, firefighters extinguished another blaze on New Year’s Eve that left heavy damage to a home in South Danville. The fire was at 213 West 7th Street.
Anyone with information that might help in the investigation into these fires is asked to contact Captain Ryan Allison of the Danville Fire Department at (217) 431-2350.
{Photo at the top of this story shows the apartment building which was involved in Tuesday’s blaze at 610 West Seminary Street.}
