Sunday Morning Fire Destroys Garage In Fairbury

A Sunday morning garage fire produced an intense heat and thick, black smoke, but local fire fighters arrived quickly on the scene and the fast-moving blaze was contained to one building, despite the close proximity of other structures. At 11:22 a.m., July 14, Fairbury Rural Fire Department was paged out to a report of a garage on fire in the 1600 block of G street in Fairbury. Due to an automatic aid agreement, Jansen Rural Fire was also paged for mutual aid. Per Fire Chief Judd Stewart, fire personnel were on scene within four minutes of the page and advised heavy fire and smoke on arrival. Initial command setup by Assistant Fire Chief Barry Schwab with Chief Stewart assuming command five minutes into the fire attack. The first fire apparatus was on scene within nine minutes of the initial call and started an exterior attack to knock the fire down. Due to the level of fire involvement and pending structural failure, no fire personnel entered the burning building. The fire was knocked down within minutes. Crews then worked to extinguish spots around the building that were still showing fire and heat. According to Chief Stewart, the fire was considered under control within 25 minutes of the initial call. Firefighters kept the fire within the building of origin although there was some damage to items in a nearby garage from the radiant heat. Crews remained on scene to control hot spots while the chief and department personnel investigated the cause. The fire was determined to be accidental and electrical in nature. Due to the heat, Ambulance District 33 was on scene to help with firefighter rehab. There were no injuries to firefighters or to any members of the public. Jefferson County Sheriff’s office was on scene to help control traffic and ensure safety of fire department operations.All told, there were 17 firefighters and five apparatus on scene. Responding departments were Fairbury Rural and Jansen Rural Fire Departments, Jefferson County Ambulance District 33, Jefferson County Sheriff’s office and Fairbury Light and Water. In a statement, the Fire Chief wrote, “FRFD Fire Chief Judd Stewart commends the firefighters for the great work in controlling the scene quickly and efficiently, despite the high heat and humidity. Stewart would like to thank Jefferson County Ambulance District 33 for their work in ensuring the health and safety of our firefighters on scene by providing rehab and health monitoring of the firefighters on scene and also Jefferson County Sheriff’s office in controlling traffic around the scene. Chief Stewart also says thank you to the businesses and neighbors who provided drinking water during the incident.”Steward added, “We have a great community and thank you all for your support.”

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