UPDATE:
The Following is a Vermilion County Coroner’s Office Release
The Vermilion County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of a Friday night, 12/30/2022, fire at 805 N. Vermilion Street in Danville, as 72 year old Bernard Baker of Danville.
Mr. Baker was found inside the structure and was pronounced deceased at the scene. His family has been notified and results of an autopsy are pending. The investigation into the cause of the fire is on-going. The Danville Fire Department, Illinois State Fire Marshall’s Office, and the Vermilion County Coroner’s Office continue to investigate.
Original Story:
A Friday night blaze at a commercial building in Danville has claimed a life. Danville Fire Chief Aaron Marcott confirmed Saturday that while firefighters were searching the building in the 800 block of North Vermilion Street they located the victim. Chief Marcott says the victim was pronounced dead on the scene, but the person’s name has not been released yet by the Vermilion County Coroner (as of Saturday afternoon).
Chief Marcott says firefighters received a report shortly before 6:00 p.m. Friday (December 30, 2022) about heavy black smoke coming from the building. Upon arrival firefighters forced their way through the front door of the structure at 805 North Vermilion and attacked the flames. They were hampered by the large amount of smoke and large amount of inventory in the building, according to Marcott.
After noticing the fire had extended to the roof area, firefighters were called out of the building until a ladder truck could be set up to get the roof fire under control. Firefighters then re-entered the building to resume their search and extinguish the fire, and that is when the victim was located, said Chief Marcott.
The building housed a bicycle shop along with other items.
Firefighters did remove a dog from the fire and turned it over to Vermilion County Animal Control. A second dog remained unaccounted for as of Saturday.
Preliminary damage estimates were placed at $30,000 to the structure and $10,000 to contents. There were twenty firefighters on the scene, and crews remained there until shortly after 10:30 p.m.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation by the Danville Fire Department. The State Fire Marshal and Vermilion County Coroner’s Office are assisting in the investigation.
