ROCHELLE – A fire that broke out Monday morning in a two-story, 12-unit apartment building in the 300 block of Irene Avenue displaced two residents in Rochelle. The fire began around 10:30 AM while a plumber reportedly was soldering copper pipes on the first floor, unintentionally igniting insulation inside a wall. The flames spread vertically into the second floor, damaging three of the units, one of which was vacant, according to Rochelle Fire Chief David Sawlsville.
“We had to open up the wall because, again, it’s jumping floors inside the wall, so we had to cut out the tubs surround, and then go up to the second floor and do the same thing,” he said. “We call that doing overhaul where we go looking for it.”
The scene was cleared after about two hours with help from crews from the Hillcrest and Flagg Center Fire Stations. No injuries were reported.