On Sunday, October 11th, 2026 at 1:34 PM, the Monmouth Fire Department responded to 613 South 4th Street for a residential structure fire with possible entrapment. While enroute to the incident, responding units were notified by the dispatch center that all occupants had evacuated the structure. Ladder 40 and Engine 23 quickly arrived on scene and Assistant Chief Spears assumed command of the incident. Spears’ on scene report described the home as having moderate-turbulent, dark brown smoke coming from the eaves on three sides of the house. The firefighters deployed an attack-line and entered the first floor of the house to extinguish the fire where they encountered light smoke. The interior crew attempted to ascend the stairs to the second floor where they believed the fire to be but were unable to because of high heat conditions. Due to the instability of the roof of the home, firefighters were forced to back out and switch to a defensive attack using MFD’s aerial ladder to apply water from above. The fire was brought under control after an hour and a half. MFD remained on scene for an extended period of time to extinguish any remaining hot spots and cleared from the scene at 5:36 PM.
The home sustained major fire and water damage and is uninhabitable. The cause of the fire is being investigated by an investigator from the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal. Other agencies assisting at the scene were the Monmouth Police Department, Warren County Dispatch Center, RSP&E Fire Protection District, Central Warren Fire Protection District, Galesburg Hospital Ambulance Service, 1-800-BOARDUP, and Ameren Illinois.
***Courtesy of Monmouth Fire Chief Casey Rexroat***
