Polo man rescued from burning home Tuesday, four pets perish

POLO — A Polo police officer carried an elderly man to safety Tuesday morning during a fire at 611 N. Division St.

Polo Fire Chief Jim Ports said his department was notified of the fire at the single-family home at 8:29 a.m.

“We got called for a house fire with the possibility of a person inside. When I showed up the police had the occupant right here on the north side of the house,” Port said at 9:30 a.m., pointing to the side of the two-story home.

When Patrol Officer Kaden Coppotelli arrived at the home first, he ran inside and found the elderly man in the kitchen, Polo Chief of Police Matt Coppotelli said Tuesday afternoon. Kaden is also the police chief’s son.

“Officer Coppotelli saw smoke when he arrived on scene and he saw the man standing in the kitchen. He ran inside, picked him up, and carried him outside,” Chief Coppotelli said. “He [Kaden] did a really good job.”

Polo firefighters then entered the home and found three large dogs.

“The house was cleared. We did rescue three dogs, and they all made it,” Ports said adding that two cats were also recovered but, despite resuscitation efforts, were later declared deceased.

Chief Coppotelli said the Polo Animal Hospital was called and veterinarian Dr. Shauna Roberts arrived on scene to evaluate the dogs’ conditions.

“Our local vet actually came to the scene and took one of the dogs to the vet clinic for us,” Chief Coppotelli said.

Unfortunately, the dog had suffered severe smoke damage to its lungs and a family member made the decision to have it euthanized, Roberts said late Tuesday afternoon. The family also lost a pet bird in the fire.

Ports said the man was taken to the hospital, but he did not know his condition. He said the man’s wife was at work when the fire occurred. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

“I believe it is a total loss,” Ports said referring to damages to the two-story home. “The main fire was in the front living room. It did a lot of damage.”

“They lost everything,” Roberts said.

Illinois 26 is Division Street within the city limits. A portion of the state road was closed as firefighters extinguished the fire.

Area departments providing mutual aid included Dixon Rural, Oregon, Mt. Morris and Milledgeville.