QFD fights fire in vacant home on city’s north side

Photos and drone footage from Brian Mosley.

QUINCY — The Quincy Fire Department responded to a call at 828 N. Sixth early Tuesday morning.

Quincy Fire Chief Steve Salrin said the call came in just before 1:00 a.m. and crews could see the smoke and flames from blocks away as they arrived. QFD immediately went to a second alarm and additional on-duty trucks and off-duty personnel were called.

Salrin said the home was vacant and had no utilities. Measures were taken to fight the fire externally and crews did not attempt to fight the fire from inside the home.

“Due to the the amount of fire that we had, there’s no reason that point to go interior,” Salrin said.

This is the second time QFD has responded to a fire at this address. Three people were rescued from the home in August 2018. It appears to have been vacant ever since.

From QFD: The initial General alarm dispatched Engine #2, Engine #4, Engine #6 and the Incident Commander. Upon arrival crews found the two-story brick home to have flames coming from all sides and multiple levels. The carriage house in the rear also had flames coming from the soffits.

The IC then called for a second alarm, bringing Engine #5 and Engine #3 to the scene and off-duty called in to man reserve trucks. The amount of fire, and the building being vacant lead to a defensive strategy for extinguishing the flames. Crews pulled multiple handlines and began to fight the fire from the outside through the windows.

The aerial ladder on Engine #2 was then setup and used for an elevated water stream directed at the roof and into the attic. Partial roof collapse prevented entry into the building and extinguishment in the attic area was hindered by the limit access.

On duty Cause and Origin Investigators were called in and currently remain on scene. The building was vacant and was in a stage of remodeling. There were no utilities supplied to the building.

QFD had 5 Engines and the IC respond to the scene for a total of 16 Firefighters. Second Alarm brought 6 firefighters to Central Station to man reserve apparatus. QFD was assisted by the QFD Rehab team, Quincy Police Department, Adams County Ambulance, Ameren Gas and Electric.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The address of the home was incorrect in an earlier version of this story.