UPDATED 3:02 P.M.
MORTON, Ill. – A car fire Thursday afternoon caused damage to a branch of Morton Community Bank.
Morton Fire Chief Joe Kelley says crews responded to the fire in the drive-thru teller lane at around noon, at the branch on Main St. and Detroit Avenue. A portion of Detroit Ave. was closed off while crews were battling the fire.
Kelley says it took about 20 minutes to put the fire out, but firefighters were checking for hotspots for around 45 minutes after the fire.
“The fire went into the building, extended up through, into the attic space there. So it kinda shot up to the attic space towards the peak of the attic,” Kelley said.
Morton Fire was assisted by East Peoria and Washington in battling the blaze.
Kelley says the building suffered mainly water damage, and a portion of the ceiling in the attic collapsed. He says the building will be fixable, but the vehicle is a total loss.
“They’ve got a lot of work to do ahead of them before they’ll be able to open this branch. But, of course, they have several branches here in Morton. So they’re not anticipating much of a disruption to their business,” Kelley said.
Kelley says damage to the building is estimated at up to $100,000. No firefighters or people inside the branch were injured, but the owner of the vehicle was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The cause of the car fire is not known at this time.
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MORTON, Ill. – Fire crews are on the scene of a what started out as a vehicle fire at Morton Community Bank.
Crews were called to the bank location in the 12 p.m. hour Thursday near Main Street and Detroit Avenue. WMBD’s Ken Zurski says there is an unconfirmed report at least one person being treated for smoke inhalation.
A Morton Police officer tells WMBD’s TJ Carson the car caught fire while in a drive-through teller lane of the bank. Firefighters were still putting the blaze out, and East Peoria and Washington firefighters provided mutual aid to Morton Fire.
Firefighters cut into the building in order to put more water on the fire and were not yet in a position to provide further details.
An area of Main Street near Detroit Ave. in Morton is closed to traffic.
This story will be updated.
Crews respond to a fire at Morton Community Bank’s location at Main and Detroit in Morton Thursday afternoon. (Ken Zurski/1470 & 1000.3 WMBD)
