PEORIA, Ill. — A container of kerosene went up in flames Thursday afternoon, causing approximately $30,000 in damage.
Peoria Firefighter/Paramedics were called to the area of Nebraska and Atlantic around 1:00 p.m. for a reported structure fire.
Crews encountered a fire in the rear of 1108 W. Nebraska upon arrival. There was also fire in the backyard of 1837 N. Atlantic.
The search performed by emergency crews found that all residents were outside of the home. There was smoke and water damage to the house on Nebraska.
“Most of the fire was on the outside,” said Battalion Chief Nathaniel Rice. “We had to open up some walls to extinguish all the fire that was there.”
“Opening up those walls and everything ended up causing smoke and water damage in the Nebraska house. That basically deemed that house unsafe for anybody to stay in at that point in time.”
An investigator on scene found that the fire was caused at the Atlantic address by a container of kerosene that was sitting too close to a burn barrel.
The kerosene then ignited and spread to the adjoining Nebraska address, according to Rice.
No injuries were reported to civilians or firefighters and displaced occupants of the Nebraska address were handling housing arrangements.
