The Fire Department responded to a fire at an apartment building at 20 N. 82nd St. not once, but twice Tuesday afternoon.
No injuries were reported. Authorities said no residents were inside the two-story building when the Belleville Fire Department arrived.
Assistant Belleville Fire Chief Mike Kern said the first case involved a trash can fire at the apartment building.
He said the cause of the fire was still under investigation but it appears that someone carelessly discarded charcoal in the trash.
The building owner, Tom Strackeljahn, said he asked the Fire Department to investigate the smoke that was still coming out of the vents, but was told that it would clear out.
Unconvinced, Strackeljahn said he stuck around after the Fire Department left. "I was taught that when there's smoke, there's fire," he said.
And he was right. About 4:30 p.m., close to three hours after the Fire Department left, Strackeljahn said he called them back because of a fire in the attic.
Kern said earlier when the Fire Department left the scene, a search was made for any possible spread of the fire, but nothing was found. He said it appears that something remained smoldering.
According to Kern, the fire apparently traveled from the southwest corner of the building up through the walls and got into the attic.
More than 20 firefighters from all Belleville engine houses reported to the second fire.
"This is so very irritating," said Strackeljahn. "There was about $6,000 to 7,000 worth of damage at 1 p.m. I'll tell you what, there's more than that now."
Strackeljahn said he is insured, and the building does have smoke detectors in the apartments and hallways.
He did not know when the building will be available for tenants to move back in, because he hadn't been inside to assess the damage.
Kern said there was minor smoke damage to the walls and the building did appear to be salvageable. He said he would not know the full extent of the damage until later.
Distributed by the Associated Press
