The fire that damaged the back wall of a house at 322 North East Street on Monday, June 5 will remain a mystery, according to Kewanee Fire Chief Stephen Welgat.
“Everything in the area of origin was destroyed by the fire, so it’s going to have to remain undetermined,” he said.
Welgat said that’s often the case in many structure fires since the flames obliterates any clues that might lead investigators to the source.
The Kewanee police and fire departments received a report of a structure fire on North East Street at 5:42 pm. Eight firefighters worked for roughly an hour and 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which spread to an attached deck area. The Kewanee Police Department blocked off traffic on both North East and Fourth streets.
At the time, Chief Welgat said the damage to the structure was “pretty significant,” and noted that the entire back wall of the home would need to be replaced. Smoke damage occurred throughout the structure and part of the deck was also damaged by the flames.
A fire investigator was on the scene until 9 pm and continued with the investigation, but was unable to pin down the exact cause.
Occupants were not allowed back into the home at the time, and there were no reported injuries caused by the fire.
