Concrete plant fire causes $20,000 damage
TOWN OF BELOIT—A Tuesday-morning fire in the wooden floor of a cement hopper resulted in an estimated $20,000 damage at Prairie Avenue Concrete, 3527 S. Prairie Ave.
The fire was discovered by a town of Beloit police officer shortly after 1 a.m. He reported smoke and flames coming from the cement hopper, according to a news release from the Town of Beloit Fire Department.
Firefighters from the town of Beloit and town of Turtle requested additional firefighters from the city of Beloit, Orfordville and Harlem Roscoe, Ill. The hopper is connected to another building, and firefighters weren’t sure if the fire had had spread into the attached structure.
Firefighters knocked down the fire in about 15 minutes and stopped it from entering the building. The fire cause was list as undetermined Tuesday morning, but firefighters learned workers had used a propane torch to thaw a water pipe before the fire.
Fire units from Edgerton, Juda and South Beloit, Ill., covered the town of Beloit fire department response area while town of Beloit firefighters were at the scene.
