Tuesday morning fire is estimated to have done $80,000 worth of damage to South Street home
By Kellen Olshefski
Editor
A fire that broke out Tuesday morning is estimated to have done $80,000 worth of damage to the home at 111 South St., Sharon.
According to Sharon Fire Department Chief Bruce Vanderveen, firefighters were dispatched at 8:12 a.m. to the home on South Street, owned by Michael Hornby.
Vanderveen said someone from the fire department was on scene almost immediately and a call was put out through the MABAS box system shortly thereafter due to a lack of personnel.
According to Vanderveen, crews from Sharon Fire Department had been out since around 5 a.m., fighting a shed fire in Clinton. Vanderveen said with those crews still out in Clinton, they knew they’d be shorthanded and sent out the call.
Vanderveen said right off the bat, crews from the Footville and North Park, Ill., fire departments were on their way back from the Clinton fire and responded to assist Sharon, arriving within five minutes.
According to Vanderveen, after that crews from around ten other departments responded to the call. He said some of those departments included City of Delavan, Harvard, Ill., Hebron, Ill., North Boone, Ill., Darien, Walworth, and the Linn Township covering the Sharon fire department stations.
“I really want to thank our neighbors for helping us out with the fire,” he said.
One resident from the home was transported to an area hospital for minor burns. The resident has since been treated and released.
Despite some issues, Vanderveen said the department was able to contain the fire within about 15 minutes, fully extinguishing it in 50 minutes.
“It went pretty well that way,” he said. “Cold water I would say would be an issue.”
With the cold temperatures, Vanderveen said the department struggled with a couple of fire hydrants in Sharon. He said the hydrants were frozen and crews had difficulties getting them open to provide a water supply to extinguish the blaze.
In addition, with fire in Clinton still underway, Vanderveen said all departments in the area were shorthanded through the course of the day, creating another predicament he had to overcome.
Vanderveen said currently the cause of the fire, which started in a second floor bedroom, is unknown, however, investigators from the Walworth County Fire Investigation Task Force are looking into it.
According to Vanderveen, the residents of the home are currently staying with family.
