The Huntley Farmside

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SERVING THE PEOPLE OF HUNTLEY SINCE 1960
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HUNTLEY, ILLINOIS
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1991 - VOLUME 31, NUMBER 32
USPS 580-360
Fire Destroys Huntley Apartment
Flames engulf #1 Powder Park moments after police and citizen Tom Jurs made a heroic rescue from the burning building. ,
By Joyce Liput
As reported by Police Chief Rossi and Fire Chief Veath
The fire that destroyed #1 Powder Park Thursday, November 21, won't soon be forgotten by the Huntley Police or Fire Departments.
Events began as Tom Jurs was passing #1 Powder Park. A woman flagged him down
yelling an apartment was on fire and there were children trapped inside. Using his cellular phone Jurs called for help. As he ran around the building he could hear noises from inside and began to break windows.
Thick smoke began pouring out as Police Chief Rossi and Officers Mike Hewitt and Greg Sears arrived. The neighbor also informed them there were children inside. Along with Jurs, the police began to seek a way inside. They heard
Huntley Jaycees Collect Donations For Fire Victims
Huntley Jaycees are coordinating an community effort to help the Mark Behning family who lost their Huntley area home to a fire last Thursday, Nov. 21.
The family is in need of a place to live and clothing, furniture and non-perishable food items. They have a three year old boy who wears a size
4 or 4T and a two year old girl who is in a size 3T. The parent's sizes are as follows. Mens size: pants 32-34 waist, shirt size 15-15 1/2 or medium. Womens size: pants 8, blouse size 8 - 10. The family also needs two car seats for the toddlers. Your donations may be
dropped off at the Huntley Public Works Building at Main Street and Donald Drive. Donations will be accepted Monday-Friday from 7am - 3:30pm until December 20th.
If you have any questions, please call Huntley Jaycees President Dave Cates at 669-5295.
crying noises behind a door which lead to the bedroom. The four men tried breaking down the door using Chief Rossi as a battering ram. When he injured his ankle they switched to using Officer Sears.
As soon as the door gave way. Officer Hewitt dropped to the ground and started crawling inside. Officer Sears grabbed his ankles behind him so they would be able to find a way out. Staying on the floor. Officer Hewitt reached the baby crib in the room. There he found, not a crying baby but a crying puppy. Grabbing the animal he yelled to get out. They had barely reached outside before walls of flame engulfed the building. One of the residents of the building arrived at that time and told Chief Rossi her children were not in the building, they were safe with her.
Huntley Fire Department received the call at 11:31am when only two fuUtime fire¬ fighters were on duty. Fire Chief Veath heard the call and rushed in along with the HFPD's one paid-on-call firefighter. These four men responding to the call were in the first engine on the scene. On the way
Chief Veath, anticipating a need for additional manpower, requested mutual aid from Algonquin, an engine and ambulance, and from Woodstock Rural, a water tanker. With no hydrants in the Powder Park area, the water supply would be crucial.
Huntley Fire Department arrived on the scene and began suiting up for entry to the building since the fire report said children were trapped inside. Informed that the
resident was sure there was no one inside Chief Veath ordered a defensive attack on the fire, which means no one goes inside. They began pouring water from their 2,000 gallon truck aa additional help arrived. Once he had more manpower, Chief Veath could order an interior attack. The fire was under control by 12:20pm, though they were on the scene until 2:00pm for extensive overhaul. An estimated 7,000 gallons of water was used.
Chief Veath had dispatch contact a State Fire Marshal, who arrived at 2:15pm. With HFPD, he investigated the building and interviewed the residents and owner. They determined the area of origin was the southwest section of the living room. The probable cause determined by the State Fire Marshal was possible misuse of smoking materials. An estimated value loss could not be made due to the fact neither occupants nor owner had insurance, except for liability by the owner.
Fire Chief Veath offered his compliments to his fire¬ fighters for the tremendous job they did with the limited amount of manpower they had. He thanks the police and the bystanders who assisted them with set up when they first arrived. He commented, "We were all extremely fortunate."
Police Chief Rossi couldn't praise his men enough. "They showed me something I didn't know they had," he proudly claimed. "It takes guts to get on the floor and start searching like that." His praise included Tom Jurs, commending him for his citizen involvement. "Of all the people there, there was nothing Tom
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