Firefighters arriving to a house fire at 555 Dawes Avenue in Glen Ellyn in the overnight hours of June 27th were met by heavy fire conditions. The house was two-stories in the front and three in the rear. Stephen Wilcox photo
The Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Department in MABAS Division 12 responded to a reported house fire in the 500 block of Dawes Avenue at 4:40AM on June 27, 2011. Stephen Wilcox responded and arrived with first companies to find heavy fire coming out of the front door and completely involving both floors in the rear. The alarm was upgraded to a MABAS Box Alarm. The family was able to escape the house unharmed.
A Glen Ellyn house was seriously damaged Monday following an early morning fire, authorities said.
The two-story structure in the 500 block of Dawes Avenue was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived about 4:30 a.m. The homeowners were awakened by smoke detectors and escaped without injury, according to Craig Eldridge, spokesman for the Glen Ellyn Volunteer Fire Company.
The B-C corner of the house shows complete involvement on the lower floor and the first floor. Stephen Wilcox photo
Stephen Wilcox adds this description:
Going towards the rear, the escape window is on the right side of the shot and we begin to see the conditions in the rear (“C”). There is a double sliding glass door in the middle of the lower level; a deck goes all across the back of the house and fire has taken hold of this sector.
From the rear the entire house is involved in fire. Stephen Wilcox photo
More from Stephen:
Our first look at the fire in the rear. Need I repeat, the absolute necessity of doing a 360° walk around the fire building at all fires. It is surely a different ballgame with the information you now see. The point of origin is between the steps on the right and the double door opening. A cooking pit had been used earlier and replaced, in that area along with three propane tanks. The tanks exploded adding the initial energy to the fire spread. The family is reported to have self evacuated through those double doors
Companies deploy handlines and darken the fire. Stephen Wilcox photo
Two and a half inch lines used to knock this fire before the tower was brought into play to finish the job. The water supply was lean. The lines in the area are only four inch so it was necessary to control water usage. The tower had great placement to reach the roof-attic area. Both collapsed as did the second floor during this fight.
Fire has been knocked down on the first floor and still burns on the second floor and through the roof. Stephen Wilcox photo
As the sun begins to rise, the extent of the damage done at this fire is clearly evident. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians. Stephen Wilcox photo
