PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria Firefighter/Paramedics responded Tuesday around noon to reports of a house fire at 1614 S. Easton Ave.
According to Battalion Chief Nathaniel Rice, a large amount of fire was found in the porch area of the residence when crews arrived.
With so much fire on the front porch area, Rice said it made knocking down the fire more difficult.
“When you’re trying to make entry into a structure and you’ve got flames all around the front door, it’s pretty hard to get through that and get into the house before you can get much done,” said Rice.
“Crews had to spend a little bit of time getting that amount of fire on the front porch extinguished before they were able to actually get inside.”
When they did get inside, crews found the fire was extended beyond the porch into the attic space.
A fire investigator is still determining what caused the fire, but reports from neighbors told Rice that homeless people occupied the house on occasion.
An estimated $25,000 in damage was done to the residence.
No injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported.
