Charleston Fire Dept. extinguishes downtown fire

CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA) — No one is hurt following a fire in downtown Charleston Tuesday afternoon that prompted a box alarm response.

The fire happened around 1:30 p.m. in a three-story building at 6th Street and Monroe Avenue. Officials with the Charleston Fire Department said the building is a taxpayer-style building with a business on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the roof vents on the north side of the building. When they went inside, firefighters found a smoldering fire between the third-floor apartment ceilings and the building’s roof.

Officials said a box alarm was immediately requested in order to bring more resources and personnel to the scene. Firefighters from Mattoon and Lincoln Fire Protection District were among those who responded, along with the Charleston Police Department, Coles County Sheriff’s Office, Eastern Illinois Police Department.

Multiple people inside the building were evacuated while crews pulled the ceiling down in several apartments to gain access to the fire. Officials said the fire appears to have started above the ceiling of Apartment 16 before spreading to Apartment 17. Firefighters remained on the scene until 4:30 p.m. to extinguish the fire.

Fire damage was contained to the two aforementioned apartments, but those apartments plus the ones below suffered some water damage during firefighting efforts. Property management was assessing the damage at the time Charleston Fire officials provided WCIA with a press release. There is no word on how many people are displaced.

The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical in nature and an accident.

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