A Rock Island house was demolished the very same day fire ripped through the two story structure Friday, after authorities deemed the structure unsafe.
Meanwhile, Fire Marshall Greg Marty says it is believed the blaze at the home on 15th Avenue and 7th Street started in the kitchen, but clues to what happened were all burned up in the fire.
"The fire consumed the house so quickly. We were unable to extinguish it at a point where we could identify the cause", Marty said in an interview with WQAD on Monday.
Marty praised resident Floyd Horne and Rock Island police officer Dan Johnson for their "heroic" rescue efforts. Horne busted open a second floor window, and dropped several people to safety. Then, when Horne became trapped on the home's roof, Officer Johnson came to his rescue.
"By the time our crews arrived, fire had spread quickly in nearly every part of the house. Mr. Horne was very heroic saving his family from the upstairs. Officer Johnson was very heroic and quick-acting, helping to get Mr. Horne off the roof. Just a few more minutes, and this probably would have been a situation with loss of life. People would have died", said Marty.
The family was helped immediately after the fire by the Red Cross, and are now looking for housing.