By Beacon Staff
A rural Danville home was destroyed Saturday night after a grill fire on the deck spread to the rest of the house.
The two residents inside were able to escape safely, though the family cat was not found by firefighters.
The Danville Fire Department was paged to 8997 Sycamore Road at 9:46 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters were informed that the blaze had spread to the back of the house, and mutual aid was requested from fire departments in West Burlington and New London. Danville firefighters arrived on the scene 13 minutes after the initial page. Water tenders from fire departments in Yarmouth, Denmark, and Mediapolis were also called to the scene.
The fire spread into the attic of the ranch-style home and grew quickly due to high winds. Firefighters remained on the scene until 2:46 a.m. Sunday extinguishing hotspots, but the house was a total loss. The house is insured, and Red Cross was notified for victim assistance.
Nine Danville firefighters were assisted by nine New London firefighters, seven West Burlington firefighters, two Denmark firefighters, two Mediapolis firefighters, two Yarmouth firefighters, two Burlington Fire Department paramedics and four Des Moines County deputies.
Photos by Tim Olk