DOW - A blazing fire destroyed a home and multiple vehicles at a residence at the corner of Alva and Elm streets in Dow Thursday night.
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QEM Fire Protection District Chief Gerry New said the call came in mid-evening and when QEM and other responders arrived it was an extremely difficult situation.
Godfrey, Jerseyville, and Brighton all responded to the mutual aid request, New said. The fire departments all responded quickly once they receive the call and valiantly fought the terrible blaze, New said.
“It was a very hot fire that moved rapidly,” he said. “Part of the reason it moved so quickly and there were a lot of vehicles and stuff inside the yard area. From what I understand there was also some race car fuel inside one of the sheds and that was very hot. Unfortunately, the home is a total loss. Several vehicles were also destroyed.”
Dow is an extremely rural area with no available water fire hydrants, so all the water to fight the fire had to be brought in by truck.
No one was home at the time of the fire. One dog did, unfortunately, perish in the situation, while another one was rescued, New said.
“It was a mess,” New said of the fire. “I have been out there again today. The fire remains under investigation but because of how the fire spread and burned, I don’t know if we will know exactly what actually caused it.”
Chris Rhodes also contributed to this story.
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