Fire damages real estate office in DeMotte | News
DeMOTTE — A fire Wednesday night damaged the ReMax building at 415 16th St. SE in DeMotte with heavy smoke and water damage from a fire that broke out in the basement of the renovated building.
Keener Twp. Fire was dispatched to the address at 9:31 pm Wednesday, Oct. 12, for a commercial/business structure fire. When the fire crews arrived, they found the two-story structure had smoke billowing out of the eaves. Firefighters checked the upstairs of the building for fire but found none. When the basement door was opened, they found flames and smoke.
According to Chief Tom Fentress, crews attempted to make entry into the basement, but had to back out due to conditions. Crews were required to attack the fire through the basement windows and by cutting holes in the walls to gain access to the fire. Once the fire was knocked down, crews were successful at making entry into the basement to finish extinguishing the fire.
As the firefighters were working in the basement, it was discovered the fire was spreading in void spaces and along floor trusses. They had to open up more exterior walls to gain access to the fire and cut it off from spreading further into the building. “This part of the fire attack required the most time to complete,” Fentress said. He said they are “speculating” the fire was electrical. There was charring in the basement at an area where there were three workstations set up. “That’s where we found the heaviest fire load,” he explained.
Wheatfield Fire assisted at the scene. Keener EMS stood by at the scene while firefighters worked. The fire departments were on scene over two hours and Keener Fire had their equipment cleaned and trucks restocked by 1:30 am
No injuries were reported.
On Thursday night, Keener Fire was again dispatched to a structure fire between 9:30 and 10 pm but was not needed. The fire turned out to be a rubbish fire that was near a home, but quick thinking neighbors were able to pull the fire away from the house and douse it with water from their house hose, keeping the fire from spreading and preventing any damage to the siding
The Keener Township Volunteer Fire Department has sent its annual fundraising letter to residents of the township asking for donations along with raffle tickets. The letter states, “This year we are planning to update some of our portable radio equipment to enhance our ability to communicate with each other.
“We will gladly accept any donation amount you can afford. In return, you can count on our gratitude and our commitment to be there for yhou and our community when the need presents itself.”
If you are a resident of Keener Township, please consider a donation to the fire department to allow the all-volunteer firefighters to have the up-to-date equipment they need to keep them safe.