A fire at 401 Oakwood Ave. caused about $75,000 worth of damage Wednesday.
According to East Peoria assistant fire chief John Knapp, a call came in for a working structure fire at an unoccupied home at 11:26 a.m.
“We knew the occupants were gone at the time of the fire, so that always makes things more comfortable for us,” Knapp said. “An occupied structure is a whole other ball game.”
Seventeen East Peoria firefighters responded to the house, which Knapp said had a lot of fire venting out of the back. Firefighters had the blaze under control in about 10 minutes.
The fire was contained to the home’s kitchen and laundry area.
Creve Coeur and Northern Tazewell fire departments assisted East Peoria firefighters with the fire.
Firefighters from Germantown Hills, Pekin, Washington and Peoria covered East Peoria fire stations while firefighters were on scene.
Homeowner Eric Burleson had just left the home and was only gone for about 15 minutes when he received a call that his house was on fire, according to his uncle, Mike Sayers. Burleson lived in the home with his wife and 1-year-old son.
“We’re just glad nobody was home,” Sayers said. “Things like this can happen early in the morning and can be devastating.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
