Fire heavily damaged the back side of a home in Colona, Illinois and may have started on the outside deck.
Firefighters were called to a home in the 600 block of 6th Street at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 17, 2015. When they arrived, the back of the home was engulfed in flames.
"The flames were ten, fifteen feet high," said Steve Wilker, a neighbor. "The fire was pretty much concentrated on the deck [but] it didn't take any time at all to spread to the house."
Colona Fire crews saved two people from the burning home who were both asleep at the time of the fire.
"The father was in the basement sleeping at the time, he works third shift," said Colona Fire Chief, John Swan. "He was very surprised, he thought his house was getting broke into, which it was. [We were] able to get him out the door, and he mentioned his daughter was still in the bedroom sleeping, so we were able to get upstairs and get her awake and get her out of the house."
Investigators said it appeared the fire started on the home's deck. The exact cause and dollar amount of the damages remained under investigation, although the fire chief said it does appear to be accidental and the rest of the house should be salvageable.
No injuries were reported.