RANTOUL — A Rantoul man lost 4 dogs and his “man cavern” in an afternoon fire Saturday.
Rantoul Fire Chief Chad Smith said a next-door neighbor of the local at 508 N. Penfield St. gotten in touch with 911 about 1:45 p.m. to state there was a fire in a separated garage.
“We had fire in the northeast corner of the structure pushing out the front window into the eaves, moving its way up to the roofline of the garage,” Smith said.
About 2 lots firemens from Rantoul, Gifford and Thomasboro worked for about 35 minutes to put out the fire. Smith approximated the building had to do with 24 feet by 30 feet.
The man living there was not home at the time the fire was reported.
“He had a small kitchen area and a makeshift living room with a television, refrigerator, clothes washer, sink, bathroom,” Smith said of the repurposed space.
The 4 dogs — Smith believed they may be Labrador retrievers based upon their size — remained in kennels and passed away from evident smoke inhalation.
The resident returned home while firemens were still working to revamp the building and was naturally disturbed at the loss of his family pets, Smith said.
While the reason for the fire has actually not been figured out, Smith said he’s favoring an electrical issue, including there was absolutely nothing to recommend it was deliberately set.
The building is thought about an overall loss and will need to boil down, said Smith, who approximated damage at $70,000 for the structure and contents.
