Macomb, IL – A fire in Macomb destroyed a commercial building with four businesses in it Wednesday morning.
The building at 1200 West Jackson Street included a dental office, a finance business, an embroidery operation and a rehabilitation office of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Macomb Fire Chief Andy Taylor believes the fire might have started under the roof at the west end.
He says the westerly winds sped the blaze through the attic, which did not have fire walls. He considers the building destroyed, though the walls were still standing.
Taylor says two firefighters were taken to the hospital for check ups. He says they had entered the building to tear down suspended ceiling material when part of the roof collapsed. He had not yet received word on their condition.
All staff members in the offices escaped without injury. Susan Seymour said she was working in the Riverside Finance office when someone driving a white car saw the flames, stopped, and yelled in each office for people to leave because their building was on fire.
The blaze was reported to the dispatch center about 10:50 a.m. The Macomb Department was assisted by the Colchester, Good Hope-Sciota and the Emmet-Chalmers departments.
The structure, known locally as The Jones Building, was built in 1991 to replace previous structures destroyed by a tornado.