Fire Damages Home on West Side of Lake Sara

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Published on October 16 2014 6:50 am
Written by Wayne Moran

Fire damaged a home on Lake Sara's west side Thursday morning. Firefighters were called out at 9:29am to the home of Richard and Victoria Hoffman on East 6th Avenue. The cause of the fire, believed to have started in an upstairs bedroom, is unknown at this time. Fire damage was sustained to the second floor of the home, with smoke and water damage throughout.

Shumway Battalion Chief Johnathan Paholke was the first to arrive on scene and reported heavy smoke coming from the two-story home. Paholke requested a full still alarm, which also brought a truck from Effingham Fire Department and Effingham City/County Ambulance Service to the scene. He said, "This is a two-story log cabin with a metal roof. This cabin is very well-built, and was holding a lot of smoke and heat inside. With the challenges of a metal roof and heavy timber from a log cabin, we knew we were going to need some help from the time we arrived on scene."

According to the Hoffmans, they went upstairs and heard a popping sound and discovered fire.

Shumway and Watson fire departments were on scene, along with Altamont Fire Chief Jon Becker. Crews had the fire under control quickly, but had to cut into the metal roof to vent the upstairs area. Effingham Fire Department also had a truck on scene.

The Hoffmans moved to Lake Sara in late 1996 after talking with their son, Darrell, who also lives at the lake. Richard Hoffman said it's a great community, and said neighbors have already been offering living space to the couple while they make repairs. The home was affectionately named "Southern Comfort" by the Hoffmans, who moved here from an area northwest of Chicago. The interior of the home was handcrafted by Richard, who said it was basically a shell when they moved here.

Effingham City-County Ambulance Service and the American Red Cross were also on scene.