The Jacksonville Fire Department responded to back to back calls of house fires last night.
A call came into West Central Dispatch of a house fire at 336 E. Wolcott Street at 9:19 last night. Upon arrival, Jacksonville Police Department officers were on scene with the residents of the home in the front yard, who said everyone made it out of the house safely.
The home had metal siding on the exterior which had become charged with electricity. Fire Department personnel were able to shut power off at the meter base on the west side of the home. A portion of the siding was removed from the east side where the fire originated in the wood structure behind the siding and the fire was extinguished.
According to reports, there was no immediate reason found that would have caused the electrical system to energize the siding of the residence. Ameren officials were called to shut off both electric and gas service to the home.
While on scene at the Wolcott Street structure fire, a call came in of a structure fire in the 800 block of Case Avenue at approximately 9:45 pm.
Upon arrival at the home at 867 Case Avenue, Jacksonville Fire Department crews found an exterior fire on the south side of the structure that had extended into the residence and into the attic.
All occupants of the home were outside and safe when crews arrived. The homeowner stated she and her son were in the living room when they heard something happen in the kitchen. She entered the kitchen to find flames entering the window from outside.
The other homeowner arrived from work not long after and told fire officials he had been cleaning out the basement and had placed old paint cans as well as other miscellaneous items next to the residence.
He said there was nothing that he had placed in the pile that would have caused an ignition to the materials. The Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire.
One Jacksonville Fire Department unit returned to the scene of the Wolcott Street fire to clear the scene which occurred at approximately 11:22 pm. Crews cleared and left the scene of the Case Street fire at 12:40 am.
Assisting with the active fire operations was the South Jacksonville Fire Department, with members of the Chapin Fire and Rescue Department staging in the city to assist with any further possible calls.
The Case Street fire remains under investigation. No injuries were reported in either incident.