Structural fire occurs in Belvidere

By Kathryn Menue
Editor
BELVIDERE – At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 14, a structural fire started at 123 Gladys Court in Belvidere.
No occupants of the home were hurt, nor were any of the firefighters who arrived on the scene to fight the fire.
According to Belvidere Fire Chief Hyser, the fire started from children playing with a lighter in the bedroom. The children were 1 year, 4 years, and 7 years old. There was also one adult who was able to vacate the house with the children.
The firefighters were able to arrive on the scene and keep the fire contained to “the room of origin.”
“The guys did a good job. They stopped it [the fire] in 15 minutes,” Chief Hyser said. The firefighters also spent about 2 hours on the scene putting out the fire and assessing the damage.
However, the smoke permeated throughout the house causing extensive smoke damage.
The total estimated cost for the damage is about $70,000 to the structure and content of the house.