PEORIA, Ill. — Peoria firefighters were called about 9:45 p.m. Sunday to a structure fire at the Grove Apartments in the 1600 block of W. Candletree.
Fire Battalion Chief Steve Rada said smoke and flames were seen coming from a first floor balcony and exterior wall at the back of the building as crews arrived.
“The fire did extend into the second floor of the apartment building, but all of the damage appeared to be on the exterior wall,” Rada said.
All of the apartments were evacuated as a precaution. Occupants of the unit where the fire originated evacuated before crews arrived on the scene.
“We used extension ladders to pull off all the siding and some of the OSD board (plywood) to extinguish all of the hidden pockets of fire,” Rada said.
Investigator Brad Pierson was called to the scene to determine the cause and origin of the fire. Initial reports indicated that inappropriate discard of smoking materials may have been a factor in the incident.
The fire remains under investigation.
No injuries were reported.
