No one was home at the time of the fire; numerous pets and all belongings were lost
By Jim Beers
CHESTER –The Chester Fire Department received a call at 11: 22 p.m. Friday night February 16. The call stated that there was a structure fully engulfed at 701 West Holmes Street in Chester, Illinois. The Steeleville and Ellis Grove Fire Departments were also called to provide mutual aid to assist the Chester Fire Department.
This is the scene of the house located at 701 West Holmes Street in Chester Friday night February 16. This photo was taken at approximately 11:30 p.m. at the height of the blaze. Jim Beers Photo
According Chester Fire Chief Marty Bert, Chester policeman, Joe Crain was on patrol at the time of the fire and saw the smoke. He at first thought that it was probably from a fire place or wood burner, but decided to check out the source.
A frontal view of the house at 701 West Holmes Street in Chester that caught fire Friday February 16 at approximately 11:22 P.M.. At the time of this photo, the home was fully engulfed. The Chester Fire Department fought the blaze with mutual aid from Steeleville and Ellis Grove Fire Departments. Jim Beers Photo
Bert said, “Joe was the one who actually discovered that the smoke was coming from the house fire at 701 West Holmes. He reported it to us and we immediately responded and asked for mutual aid from Steelville and Ellis Grove.”
Firefighters from Chester, Steeleville and Ellis Grove fight the house fire at 701 West Holmes in Chester Friday February 16. After approximately 30-minutes the major portion of the blaze was under control and firefighters were able to begin inspecting the interior of the home. Jim Beers Photo
When the first Chester fire truck arrived, the front portion of the house and closed-in front porch was ablaze. Several Chester Police vehicles, Randolph County Sheriff’s vehicles and a MedStar Ambulance had already arrived and on the scene.
Chester Fire Trucks are busy fighting the house fire Friday February 16 at 701 West Holmes in Chester. Firefighters from Chester were provided mutual aid by Steeleville and Ellis Grove. Shown here Chester trucks provide hoses, water, and other equipment with which to bring the blaze under control. Men and equipment were on the scene for approximately 3-hours and back at the Chester Firehouse by 2:30 a.m. Jim Beers Photo
Chief Bert said, “Once the other Chester fire truck arrived we had completed our assessment of the situation began fighting the fire. We knew the initial fire had begun in the front potion of the house, so we entered the back of the house and fought the fire from the inside-out.”
Bert noted that it is always procedure to fight a fire from the inside-out to get heat, flames, and smoke moving out of the structure. According the Bert, it was a good thing that they approached from the back because the floor of the front room had already burnt and collapsed.
“We always use a fire pole to check the floors of a house before we enter. That way, if the floor is gone, we do not fall into the basement and get injured. When we had the biggest part of the flames extinguished or beaten down, our men took the probe and checked out the entrance from the front porch. The living room floor had burned through and would have caused injury to our firefighters had they entered from the front of the house”.
There was an extreme amount of smoke in the house. All firefighters had to use air masks and oxygen tanks to enter the house. Throughout the early portion of the battle, emergency sirens, warning bells and other danger signals attached to the air tanks were sounding, warning the firefighters that their air supply was nearing the end.
Chief Bert said, “We were a bit short of staff that night, so Ellis Grove and Steeleville firefighters were essential to us in providing backup and keeping us safe. Especially when our air tanks began to run out, they jumped right in and provided support.”
On that night temperatures were around 24 degrees. Roads were ice-packed on side streets and it was slick in many arears for footing. The wind was also a factor at times. Conditions were not good for fighting a fire.
Fire personnel arrived at approximately 11:28 p.m. and were on scene for approximately three hours. Chief Bert said that by 2:30 a.m. Chester personnel were back at the Chester Firehouse and secure.
Bert said, “We do not know exactly what caused the fire at this time. We expect that the fire was probably smoldering or burning for approximately an hour or so prior to it being discovered.
“When we were able to get upstairs in the residence, temperatures were from 180-250 degrees. The actual fire was burning in the front portion of the home. We were able to knock that down fairly quickly, but the smoke and extreme hear damaged the entire house. Basically everything was lost.”
“Chief Bert noted, “We do not expect any foul play, but since we cannot make a definite determination of cause, I will meet with the State Fire Marshall on Tuesday to see what he thinks about the cause of the fire.”
The house was owned by an individual from outside of Chester. The local manager of the property was Steve Friess of Chester. The renters/occupants of the home were Tobie Cochran and Rachel Kahle. They were out of town for the weekend house-sitting for a friend.
When contacted, Cochran said, “We were taking care of a friend’s house and their pets over the weekend. When we got the call about our house, we came to Chester to see what we could do. The Fire Chief could not allow us in, but it was quite apparent that we had lost most of our belongings, our three cats and most of our reptiles.”
“Rachel and I are only 22-years old and have been on our own since we were 18-years old. Our pets are our family; they are like our children. That is the worst part of this whole ordeal.”
“We have had a lot of support and kind response to the tragedy. I am beyond grateful for everything that people have done for us already. For now we are staying with friends. I have always been a very proud and self-sufficient person. It is difficult for us to take anything at all in response to everyone’s kind gestures.”
“Mostly I am thankful that we were not at home asleep when this happened. Both the police and firefighters told me that had we been home and asleep, we probably would not have survived.”
“I work at V-8 Speed and Restoration in Red Bud. My boss has been extremely supportive to us and I am very thankful to have such a great, understanding management to show us support.”
There has been a “Go Fund Me” account set up for anyone who wishes to help out Tobie and Rachel during this very trying time. To contribute, visit the site at gofundme.com and search for “Tobie & Rachel House Fire Relief”.