Fire Damages Apartment on Hendelmeyer Avenue

Fire damaged an apartment building at 514B Hendelmeyer Avenue Tuesday evening.

No one was injured in the incident.

Effingham Fire Chief Brant Yochum said the fire department received a call at 7:09pm. As firefighters arrived, they could see flames coming from the first floor apartment windows at the exterior of the structure. Firefighters sprayed water into the apartment through the windows, then went inside the structure to extinguish the fire.

Chief Yochum said there was smoke damage to five other apartment units, Units 2, 5, 6, 9 and 10, but the fire was confined to Apartment 1 in the building. Yochum and Assistant Chief Matt Kulesza investigated the fire and ruled the fire as accidental.

Fire units remained on scene for approximately two hours after receiving the call. Agencies that assisted were Effingham City Dispatch, Effingham Police Department, Rural Med, Teutopolis Fire Protection District, Ameren Electric, Shumway Fire Protection District, and Watson Fire Protection District.