Lincoln Fire Chief reports on February 1st house fire on Hamilton Street

 

[February 10, 2022] 

On Tuesday, February 1, at 5:26 p.m. Lincoln Firefighters were called to an active blaze at 219 South Hamilton in Lincoln.

According to Lincoln Fire Chief Bob Dunovsky the address is an older two-story home divided into upstairs and downstairs apartments.

Dunovsky said that at the arrival of the fire department three of the home's occupants - two from the upstairs apartment and one from the downstairs apartment were outside the home. A second resident of the downstairs apartment, Trina Echols, was not home at the time.

The occupant of the ground floor apartment, Thomas Echols, was located on the porch of a neighboring home, wrapped in a blanket. A Lincoln Police officer had checked on Mr. Echols. Echols told the officer he was okay. Dunovsky said that LCPA was in route and that Echols was to be checked out by the paramedics when they arrived.

Dunovsky said some time later he looked across to the porch area where Echols had been and saw that the man had collapsed. A neighbor was working to assist and two Lincoln Firefighters went to assist as well.

LCPA arrived on the scene and took over the care of Mr. Echols and determined that he had perished. Dunovsky said that the report from Logan County Coroner Don Peasley noted that health issues were the contributing factor in Mr. Echols passing and that there was also “mild smoke inhalation.”

Dunovsky said that fighting the fire posed some challenges. He noted that Tuesday evening was the beginning of the large snow storm that crossed Logan County on Wednesday and Thursday. At the time of the fire, the precipitation was cold rain.

He noted that the air temperature was not all that cold, but the rain was. The combination created an unusual effect that kept the smoke from the fire at ground level. He recalled noting that driving to the fire, he noted smoke at vehicle level from Broadway all the way down to Wyatt Avenue. This made transportation difficult as well as fighting the fire at the scene.

In addition, with the warm air, cold rain, heat of the fire, and water involved in putting it out, conditions around the house quickly turned icy.

Dunovsky said that the Echols family pet expired in the fire. From the upstairs apartment a cat was brought out and pet CPR was administered by the Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District, using special equipment, but the cat later expired as well.

Dunovsky said that mutual aid in fighting the fire was offered by Atlanta Fire Department, Mount Pulaski Fire Department, and Lincoln Rural. In all, there were about 30 firefighters on hand who worked to extinguish the fire.

The fire is still under investigation, but looks to have started in the ground floor apartment.

[Nila Smith]