A single-story home on West Barrow Road in rural Roodhouse was a total loss last night due to fire.
Roodhouse, Winchester, and White Hall Fire Departments responded to a fully involved structure fire just after 5PM yesterday on West Barrow Road. Flames were visible through the roof when first units arrived and heavy black smoke could be seen from Illinois Route 106.
It took approximately two and a half hours to knock down the blaze. Initial reports from the scene indicate their were no injuries, but a few family pets are believed to have perished inside the home.
UPDATE
Roodhouse Fire Chief Terry Hopkins says that the cause of the fire remains undetermined. Hopkins says that a determination in the future is highly unlikely because there is little left of the structure: “Actually, by the time anybody that far out in the country saw it, I mean [the structure] was pretty much gone by the time they even called. We did kind of locate that the fire started in the center of the home. Like I say, there was so little of it left by the time we got it out, it could be anybody’s guess now. We had mutual aid from White Hall and Winchester on it because it was a remote area and getting water to it that far out.”
Hopkins says that they were called back out to the location around 3AM to suppress hot spots that had re-ignited. Overall suppression efforts took a little over 2 1/2 hours. Hopkins says the home is a total loss and one of the family’s three pets is believed to have perished in the fire. Everyone else, including fire personnel, reported no injuries.