At 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, Logan Fire and Rescue was called to a structure fire at the intersection East Fifth St. and North Second Ave. The family was safe from the fire and so were most of their animals, but two rabbits did perish in the fire.
Fire Chief Craig Charbonneau, who lives about four blocks away, could see the flames coming out of the northwest corner of the structure when he was heading to the fire hall.
“When we arrived on scene, that is where we determined their fireplace was,” he said. “It had burned through the outside wall and was burning up to the roof.”
Logan Fire and Rescue also paged Missouri Valley, Woodbine, Magnolia and Mondamin for assistance, and the whole block was smoky.
“It had climbed up into the attic,” Charbonneau said. “When other departments arrived, we started making a more aggressive interior attack. The northwest part of the structure was able to be knocked down from the outside, but the interior walls had got into the upstairs.”
Pulling of ceilings and wall coverings was necessary to get to the trapped fire, Charbonneau said, and a crew of five or six people used thermal cameras to foam the area in hopes that they wouldn't get called back for any hot spots.
Charbonneau noted that responders got back to the station at around 9:15 p.m., which makes for nearly four hours spent fighting the fire.
The homeowner said the fireplace had been burning since around 2 p.m. that day. All residents of the home got outside safely and responders rescued one dog, three cats and three rabbits. There were two rabbits that perished in the fire.
