An early morning blaze Thursday in the 1400 block of Kingshighway in Washington Park destroyed a vacant house, melting siding and popping out windows in homes next to it.
No one was injured, Washington Park Fire Chief Raymond Mix said. The cause of the fire at the vacant house at 1423 Kingshighway, and where it started, are under investigation, he said.
Four Washington Park firefighters responded to the scene at 5:15 a.m., he said.
When firefighters arrived, the house was engulfed and the two homes on the sides of it had visible signs of melted siding and broken windows, Mix said.
Tyrone Brown said he and his seven family members were inside their home at 1417 Kingshighway, asleep when the fire broke out.
"My oldest son, who's 11, woke me up and told me the house next door was on fire," he said.
"When I got outside, it was burning pretty bad. Flames were shooting through the roof. Then, the flames started coming from the side of the house," Brown said.
Brown has lived next door to the house for a year and a half. He said it has always been vacant and no homeless people or anyone else have ever been around it.
Brown said the heat from the fire "was very intense."
Mix said his department received assistance from Caseyville and State Park fire departments.
Distributed by the Associated Press
