Major Fire Monday in Mt. Vernon

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Published on December 20 2016 2:22 pm
Last Updated on December 20 2016 2:22 pm
Written by Greg Sapp

Fire has destroyed the Sears and USA Mattress store at 47-hundred Broadway in Mt. Vernon.

Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Sergeant expects damage to top $1-million. He says the 100 by 200 foot pole barn type building was fully engulfed in flames upon their arrival around 12:30 Monday morning.

"A large volume of fire coming from the building. With it being so cold obviously it hampered our efforts a little bit. When we started spraying water it put down a pretty good layer of ice so we had to be real careful. We did get a good knock down. We were able to contain it to just one building which is a total loss. We didn't have any injuries on scene of our fire fighters."

Sergeant says one investigator did slip and fall on the ice left by the water to fight the fire.

The State Fire Marshal's office is helping determine the cause of the fire. Sergeant reports the fire appeared to have started in the rear of the building.

The Sears Hometown Store is owned by Alan Stockman and USA Mattress Outlet by his wife Lisa Stockman.

Jefferson Fire Protection District personnel were called on mutual aide.

Firefighters left the scene at 4:30 Monday morning, about four hours after the fire was reported.

The Illinois Department of Transportation was called to deal with ice that formed on Broadway due to the firefighting efforts.