A house in South Peoria was demolished Saturday following an apparent arson after Peoria firefighters responded to the location for a second time this week.
According to Peoria Fire Department Battalion Chief Tom Sander, a fire investigator determined the blaze at 813 S. Greenlawn Ave. was set intentionally. Emergency demolition of the house was ordered and completed.
Sander said crews were called to the site shortly after 6 a.m. Saturday and found the building fully engulfed in flames. He said structural instability forced firefighters to attack from outside, and it took close to an hour to get the fire under control.
No injuries were reported to firefighters or civilians, and the cost of the damage was estimated at $80,000. The home was vacant following an earlier fire three days ago.
Early Wednesday morning, firefighters extinguished two separate fires on the second floor of the residence, quickly containing the blaze to a single room and minimizing damage to light smoke and water damage.
A report on that incident from Battalion Chief Scott Strum indicated one occupant evacuated the building before firefighters arrived, and a second occupant was not home at the time.
