QFD responds to early morning fire on city’s south side

QUINCY — The Quincy Fire Department responded to a fire on the city’s south side early Friday morning.

MRN’s Aspen Gengenbacher was on the scene and reported the fire at 311 S. 14th started just before 4 a.m. Five QFD engines responded to the call.

No one was injured. Officials say a woman in her 40s lived in the bottom unit of the building, but the top floor was unoccupied. Two cats were removed from the home, but one was still missing.

From the Quincy Fire Department:

The first crews arrived within five minutes and observed heavy flames coming from the back of the house and a side window. They deployed two hand lines and began extinguishing the fire. The second and third crews arrived and connected the first truck to the hydrant nearby and advanced the second hand line into the structure to work on extinguishment.

The incident commander escalated the fire to a Third Alarm, bringing all on duty crews to the scene and calling in off duty personnel to staff reserve trucks and help at the fire scene.

The fire was almost entirely extinguished in about an hour. Crews spent the rest of the time pulling out walls and pulling down ceilings looking for hidden fires. They were extinguished as they were found. One crew remains on scene and cause investigation is being conducted at the time of this report.

Two firefighters were injured during this incident – one with a cut to his hand and one with a medical condition.

QFD was assisted by the volunteer rehab team, Adams County Ambulance, QPD, and Ameren gas and electric.

There were 24 firefighters were on scene from five engines, one quint, the incident commander, Fire Chief, two Deputy Chiefs, and investigators.