Early morning fire damages commercial structure

    Coal City Police Sgt. Tom Logan was on his way to work when he noticed smoke coming from a building at 445 S. Broadway. The officer immediately notified Grundy County Dispatch Center and within minutes firefighters were on the scene.
    “We are thankful for the quick recognition of Sgt. Logan that helped to minimize the damage to the building from the fire,” Coal City Fire Chief James Sheldon said.
    The call went out a 5:45 a.m. and when fire crews rolled up to the single story commercial building smoke was showing from the roof with no visible fire.  
    According to the chief, the alarm was upgraded to bring in additional units to locate and extinguish the fire.
    “The roof of the building had to be opened from the exterior with saws in order to extinguish the fire due to the wooden ceiling inside which made it very difficult for the interior crews to open up from the bottom. Great job by the companies on scene who helped to minimize the damage to the building,” Sheldon said.
    Crews had the fire under control within 30 minutes of arrival. The cause is undetermined by MABAS 15 fire investigators. The building has since been turned over to the village of Coal City’s code enforcement officer.
    Sheldon reports one firefighter was medically evaluated at the scene and released.
    Hair Benders salon is located in the front of the structure and a residential space is located in the back of the building. No one was in the structure at the time of the fire.
    Coal City was assisted by fire crews from Braidwood, Wilmington, Morris, Gardner, Channahon, Elwood and Seneca, as well as an ambulance from Minooka and the MABAS 15 Rehab Unit. Additionally, providing station coverage were crews from Plainfield, Troy, Dwight and Seneca.
    Coal City firefighters cleared the scene around 8:15 a.m.