Fire Destroys Garage Southwest of Effingham

The Watson Fire Protection District was dispatched Friday aftrnoon to a garage fire at 10969 N. 1175th Street in rural Effingham, the residence of Robert and Goldie Brown. The call came at 4:10pm.

The garage was reported to be fully involved in fire. Effingham Fire Department and Shumway Fire Protection District were also dispatched as automatic aid. A large volume of smoke could be seen coming from the area of the residence while Watson FPD units were en route, so the alarm level was upgraded to a Full Still. This brought Teutopolis and Dieterich Fire Protection Districts, as well as Rural Med EMS, to the scene, and Altamont and Edgewood Bi-County Fire Protection Districts to the Watson station for coverage.

First arriving companies reported a detached outbuilding fully involved in fire, with the building already partially collapsed. The fire had extended to an antique tractor stored outside adjacent to the building, as well as to the surrounding wooded area.

Crews split up and attacked both the building fire and the fire spreading through the wooded area. All fire was brought under control within 20 minutes of the arrival of the first companies on scene. Overhaul operations were then conducted and all the exterior metal siding and roofing was removed to put out remaining hot spots.

The outbuilding was used for the storage of tools, equipment and wood products, all of which were lost in the fire. Norris Electric Cooperative was contacted and came to the scene to assist the Browns with restoring electricity to their residence. All fire units were clear of the scene at 5:27pm. No firefighters or residents were hurt during the incident.

The cause of the fire is undetermined at this time.