The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Donna Pindell, The Quill
Stronghurst- On Thursday morning, February 28, at approximately 4:11 a.m. the McDonough County Sheriff's Department relayed a 911 call to the Henderson County Sheriff's Department to report a fire at 204 S. Elizabeth Street in Stronghurst.
The home was previously owned and occupied by the Ellis "Bud" and Juanita Vancil family and is currently owned by Ellis Vancil, Jr. who lives in Arizona.
Shortly after the blaze was reported, I could hear a popping noise outside of my home which is 1 1/2 blocks north of the Vancil home also on Elizabeth Street. I discovered the popping was from ammunition in the garage fire.
As I looked out my kitchen window, I could see the flames shooting over 30 feet into the night sky causing the whole neighborhood to glow. At the time, I thought it was the Stronghurst United Methodist Church on fire which brought back memories of the early 1970s when the previous Methodist Church burned to the ground as my family and I watched.
The M.S.T. Volunteer Fire Department were on scene within minutes fighting the sea of flames, but their only hope was to contain the fire to the garage and house, preventing the fire from reaching nearby houses.
When I arrived on scene at 4:25 a.m., I started taking photos and watched in awe at the speediness, teamwork and professionalism of our volunteer firefighters. The firemen already had a hose on the garage and Scott Ford, M.S.T. Fire Chief and Arbry Vancil took charge of hooking up the 2nd hose to the fire hydrant at the corner of Nichols and Elizabeth Street in front of the Methodist Church.
The fire started in the garage and within minutes fully engulfed the two car building. Two automobiles were outside the garage and both were also destroyed.
All occupants escaped the burning home with one person being taken to Great River Medical Center by the Stronghurst Ambulance EMT's, then on to University of Iowa for burns on both hands. He was treated and released. No one was suppose to be in the home at this time according to Fire Chief Scott Ford.
Another EMT, Bobbi Tapscott stayed in her personal vehicle to help in case the fire crew needed her.
Chief Ford confirmed that three fire departments battled the blaze: M.S.T, Raritan and Biggsville with 25 fire fighters on scene.
After knocking down the garage blaze, the house fire needed to be contained. Larry Fox and Curtis Nichols climbed on the roof of the back section of the house. They used tools to open up the roof and fought the fire from above.
Meanwhile, several firefighters entered the house from the front door to push the fire back to the contained area. From outside, you could see the firefighters flashing lights through the windows as they assessed the situation inside.
Brad Flatt brought "Little Squirt" to the front of the house to spotlight the area. After the back part of the home was ventilated by Larry Fox using a chain saw to cut open the roof, they used a large fan at the front door to help clear the smoke in the house and push the fire toward the back.
Amanda Jack, who lives close by, opened the Methodist Church for everyone to get warm and take breaks. Amanda, Sharon Hicks and Pastor Lisa made sandwiches and provided coffee and cookies to the crews. An employee of Fisher's Jack and Jill opened the store early so the ladies could get supplies.
West Central FS brought pizza and bottled water to the church for the crews. Jim and Sarah Brown, owners of The Feed Lot Grill in Stronghurst, provided an early lunch of cheeseburgers to the tired firefighters at the fire station.
The Illinois State Fire Marshall conducted an investigation on Thursday.
A report is pending. Chief Ford informed me that Illinois has enough Fire Marshalls for each to cover around 13 counties with Cook County (Chicago) having their own. Illinois has recently hired some more Fire Marshalls to help.
As a resident of Stronghurst, I am very proud of our Volunteer Fire Departments and Emergency Responders. I hope everyone thanks them whenever possible. You never know when you may need assistance from the M.S.T. Fire Department or Emergency Responders.
Come and support the M.S.T. Firemen's Pancake & Sausage Supper this Saturday, March 9th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the MST Fire Station in Stronghurst. They will be giving away door prizes and it's a free will donation. It's a good time to give back to those who serve and protect us and to say thanks!
A Stronghurst home owned by Ellis Vancil Jr. who resides in Arizona was destroyed by fire in an early morning fire Thursday, Feb. 28th. Volunteer firemen from three fire departments battled the blaze with temperatures in the teens. -photo by Donna Pindell, The Quill
