Fire engulfs closed Peru tavern Monday on Water Street

Firefighters from 10 companies battled a blaze – along with fierce winds – at a closed tavern Monday on Water Street in Peru. The former Platform 31 was a total loss.

“It was a wind-driven fire, definitely,” Peru Fire Chief Jeff King said of the sustained gusts.

King said the fire was accidental in nature but there is no determined source and the Office of the State Fire Marshal was summoned to investigate.

Firefighters were dispatched at 8:31 a.m. to 901 Water St. on Monday morning and were on scene just under six hours. King quickly sent for reinforcements as the wind kicked up; but no firefighters or EMS personnel were injured.

No residents were injured, either. Although a woman and her dog were safely evacuated from an adjacent dwelling, King said, the tavern itself was unoccupied and so were the living quarters on the second floor.

King eventually elevated the blaze to a four-alarm fire. La Salle, Oglesby, Spring Valley, Ladd, Tonica, Cherry, Lostant, Cedar Point and Ottawa fire departments all responded. Dalzell manned the Peru station while firefighters were on scene. Peru Volunteer Ambulance Service and La Salle Ambulance were on scene.

The city of Peru also had advised nearby residents to anticipate a temporary loss of power. City personnel from public works, the electric department, Peru police and Illinois Valley Regional Dispatch all assisted, as did Ameren. Illinois Valley Excavating and Michelini’s provided machinery for firefighters to work through the debris.

Platform 31 had been closed for months. Proprietors announced its closure in a Facebook post in summer 2024. The restaurant had opened in late 2021.

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Flames shoot out of a second-story window as firefighters respond to the scene of a fire at the former Platform 31 tavern on Monday, March 24, 2025, on Water Street in Peru. The fire was upgraded to a third alarm summoning fire departments from La Salle, Utica, Mendota, Tonica, Ottawa, Ladd, Spring Valley, Lostant, Cedar Point and Troy Grove. (Scott Anderson)