A4 Friday, January 16, 2009

NewsTribune www.newstrib.com

NORTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS

Fighting fire, freezing temperatures
Fire destroys home; Man and cat OK
By Lindsay Welbers Princeton Reporter

PRINCETON One Princeton resident and his cat are safe after a two-alarm house fire destroyed their home Thursday. The fire, at 305 S. Church St., was called in by resident William Holm who discovered the fire at about 8:30 a.m. after returning from work. Princeton Fire Department received the call at 8:36 a.m. and arrived on the scene at 8:37 a.m. Our biggest problem today is, number one, the weather, Princeton fire chief Gary Hanna said. The second problem we have is the house is an apartment house.

Its been renovated, reworked a few times, apparently. The house had been divided into two apartments. The first-floor apartment was vacant and Holm was the only resident in the second floor apartment. Hanna said the fact the building had been renovated made gaining access to the blaze difficult. Firefighters battled the fire on the inside for about 90 minutes, Hanna said, before the interior collapsed. Firefighters were ordered out of the interior of the building, and none were injured in the collapse.
Extreme temperatures deter firefighters

Firefighters were given the opportunity to get out of the cold thanks to the generosity of a nearby church and area restaurants. First United Methodist Church of Princeton, 316 S. Church St., was being used as a warming station for fire-

fighters. Methodist church allowed us to come into their cafeteria area to warm up, Hanna said. Weve had area restaurants that have brought us food and drinks to try and keep these guys warm so that they can get back out and give us a hand. Crews were being rotated between the scene and the church. Hanna estimated 4050 firefighters were on the scene from at least 10 different departments. Hanna said the only injuries to firefighters reported were minor, and all were related to the weather. Everythings freezing up, said Brian Carrington, a first responder and firefighter with Princeton Fire Department who was resting in the church. By the time you get back in here and come back out youre freezing up again. To help prevent trucks from freezing, Hannah said, they were being rotated in and out of the Princeton Fire house, giving them a chance to warm up so the water inside didnt freeze.
Resident and cat both safe

NewsTribune photo/Lindsay Welbers

NewsTribune photo/Lindsay Welbers

Firefighters brave the below zero temperatures Thursday to extinguish a two-alarm blaze at 305 S. Church St., Princeton. The two-story apartment was home to William Holm and his cat, Bibs. Holm was uninjured and Bibs was taken to a local veterinary clinic.

Holm, who had been living in the second-story apartment for two years, said he returned home after working the night shift at Gateway Services in Princeton and saw flames coming out from the first floor of the building. I went upstairs to try to find my cat, Holm said. I couldnt hear him or anything the firefighters did. They brought him out. Hes probably the first cat in a house fire that got frostbite. Holm said he was unable to find the 3-year-old black and gray cat named Bibs because the smoke was too

Princeton Fire Department Lt. Rodney Lange chips ice from the jacket of Tiskilwa fire chief Randy Philhower after Philhower came indoors to First United Methodist Church of Princeton on Thursday to try to get warm. The church allowed firefighters to warm up inside the building as temperatures outside dipped into the negative teens. The extreme cold created potential for frostbite or hypothermia.

thick. I couldnt see. I was up there, my eyes were burning and I was coughing, Holm said. So I have to assume he hid in the closet or hid under the bed and stayed out of the way until he heard one of the firemen. Holm said firefighters rescued Bibs from the burning home with only minor injuries. Hes OK. Theyre watching him to make sure he doesnt get pneumonia or hypothermia and he could lose part of his ear because it

was kind of floppy. Bibs was taken to Bureau Valley Veterinary Clinic where he was being monitored, Holm said. He was coughing a little bit but he was purring up a storm before we left. Hanna could not comment on what started the fire but Holm said he believed it started in the basement. I know Im not the only person this has happened to, Holm said. You really dont think that kind of thing happens to you until it does.

Holm and Bibs will stay with Holms parents in Hennepin until he is able to get a new apartment. Ill be looking for something else in town. Ive come to the conclusion I dont really want to live someplace where theres not somebody else living in the building, just because if this kind of thing happens theres nobody to know about it, Holm said. Lindsay Welbers can be reached at (815) 872-1069 Ext. 13 or ntprinceton@ivnet.com.

Mark to play plaintiff in oil company tax cases Text alerts to return today
By Shannon Crawley-Serpette Putnam-Marshall Bureau Chief

County and Mark had the right to become plaintiffs in the two cases.

after Mark was notified it would soon lose Hartney as a revenue

Hartney has an office in Forest View.