PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria firefighters were called just before 4:30 a.m. Saturday to River Station at 212 SW Water Street on reports of a working fire.
Fire Battalion Chief Steve Rada said someone on the East Peoria side of the river spotted flames coming from the building and called 911.
“We already had crews on scene of another call at the time actually, with smoke in a building on Perry. So, as soon as we cleared that scene, we responded down to the River Station and found heavy smoke and fire on the outside of the building,” Rada said.
Rada said the Blue Duck BBQ Tavern suffered smoke and water damage.
“We had to cut holes in the roof to further extinguish the fire that was trapped in the attic space in between the ceiling inside and the actual roof sheeting on the outside,” Rada said.
Rada said crews were able to ventilate the structure to prevent any further smoke damage. No one was found inside the building and the railroad had to be notified to be shut down equipment due to laying large diameter hose across the railroad tracks.
Rada said crews made a quick, aggressive attack on the fire to prevent further losses to the historic River Station building.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.
