Coal City fire halted after local police officer notices smoke

COAL CITY - After a call from Coal City police officer Sgt. Tom Logan, Coal City Fire Protection District responded to a commercial building fire at 445 S. Broadway St at 5:45 a.m. Monday morning.

Logan noticed the smoke while heading into work and notified dispatch.

When the crews arrived on scene, there was smoke showing from the roof area of the small, one-story building, according to public information officer Nick Doerfler.

The roof of the building had to be opened from the exterior with saws in order to extinguish the fire, due to the wooden ceiling inside, which made it difficult for interior crews to open it, according to a news release.

Doerfler said the fire was under control in 30 minutes, and one firefighter was medically evaluated at the scene and released from care.

The cause of the fire was undetermined in the immediate aftermath of the blaze, with MABAS 15 fire investigation team working to determine the cause.

According to the news release, the building has been turned over to the village code enforcement officer, pending the insurance company's examination.